BEIJING, Nov. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Youku Tudou Inc.
(NYSE: YOKU), China's leading
Internet television company, today announced that it has obtained
the exclusive rights from Talpa Holding, an international media
company, to produce The Voice Kids format in China. This project will be operated by the
company's Tudou division. This collaboration combines the strengths
of Youku Tudou and Talpa media with the power of The Voice
franchise.
The Voice Kids was created by the Dutch media tycoon John de Mol
as a sister show to the widely successful reality show, The Voice.
The positive and compassionate nature of The Voice is easily
transformed into a fun and enriching kids' vocal competition.
Launched in 2012, The Voice Kids offers a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for talented children, as top recording artists guide
them with care to help develop their talent from beginning to end.
There are currently 25 local versions of The Voice Kids in
production worldwide and the show has become a primetime success in
its own right.
The Voice of China has already
been a social phenomenon, and a smash hit in each of its three
seasons, garnering the No.1 viewership rating among shows in its
category. The Voice Kids is expected to build on the popularity of
this franchise in China.
The Voice of China Kids will retain the classic format including
blind auditions, electrifying battles, and professional coaching.
As it is based on an internet platform, it will have opportunities
for viewers to interact with the show across multiple screens.
"We're excited to bring this worldwide hit format to
China and its integration into the
Youku Tudou media and entertainment ecosystem will add further
appeal beyond its already great interactive, participatory quality
and unique design. I believe that The Voice of China Kids provides
a wonderful opportunity for today's kids who are very expressive
and want a platform to show their talents. By appealing to all
ages, I'm sure it'll be great for families to watch together week
after week," said Weidong Yang,
President of Tudou.
"I am thrilled that The Voice Kids will come to the Chinese
audience through a pioneering media outlet such as Tudou. The Voice
Kids has already received high ratings and recognition from around
the world. With the huge success of The Voice of China, I believe The Voice of China Kids will
receive massive attention and generate a huge amount of buzz for
the Chinese audience," said John de Mol, President of Talpa
Media.
Tudou's cooperation with Talpa fits into the new partnership
approach, designed to help build Youku Tudou's multiscreen media
and entertainment ecosystem. The Voice Kids is a further addition
to Tudou's impressive array of original content, which caters to a
mostly younger and edgier audience, with currently 30 shows and 500
episodes of original content. In similar fashion, Tudou has
pioneered popular original shows such as Tudou's Weekend Show, The
Show, and Tudou K-pop, which were produced by teams of seasoned
professionals, 2/3 of their core members were from the top content
producers in China such as Hunan
TV and Jiangsu TV.
About Youku Tudou Inc.
Youku Tudou Inc. (NYSE: YOKU) is China's leading Internet television company.
Its Youku and Tudou Internet television platforms enable users to
search, view and share high-quality video content quickly and
easily across multiple devices. Its Youku brand and Tudou brand are
the most recognized online video brands in China. Youku Tudou's American depositary
shares, each representing 18 of Youku Tudou's Class A ordinary
shares, are traded on the NYSE under the symbol "YOKU."
About Talpa
Talpa, based in Laren, The
Netherlands, is the holding firm that incorporates John de
Mol's media activities. The company focuses on several parts of the
international media industry. Over the past few years, Talpa
Holding has established itself as a full service development,
production and distribution company primarily for television
programmes. Talpa Content is the group's own creative development
unit for television formats and multimedia concepts. Genres include
reality, infotainment, entertainment, game shows, fiction, comedy
and feature film. Talpa Productions is the group's in-house TV
production unit. Talpa Global is dedicated to the worldwide
licensing of Talpa Content's formats and finished series.
Talpa Media also has its own record label: 8ball Music
(www.8ballmusic.nl).
Talpa Media Group is a shareholder in SBS Nederland
(www.sbs.nl), which operates three TV stations, SBS6, NET5 and
Veronica. Radio stations Radio 538 and Slam FM (www.radio538.nl)
are also fully owned by Talpa. Next to this, Talpa holds a minority
share in radio corporation 100% NL which operates a station under
the same name and one called Radio 10 (www.100p.nl).
In 2010, Talpa acquired a stake in successful Russian producer
Mir Reality. In 2012, the company set up Talpa Media USA, its own production company in
Los Angeles. In 2014 Talpa Middle
East, based in Dubai, was
established. Talpa UK, Talpa Italy and Talpa Nordic are examples of
50-50 joint ventures Talpa operates together with local production
companies in key international television markets. The goal is to
jointly produce programmes in those markets based on Talpa formats
and commissioned by local broadcasters. Examples of such partners
are Shed Media in the UK, Shine France in Francophone European
markets, Shine Iberia in Spain and
Portugal and Shine Australia in
Australia and New Zealand, Nordisk Film TV and Banijay
Finland for Scandinavia and Finland, Toro TV in Italy. Talpa Germany is jointly owned with Axel Springer
SE.
SOURCE Youku Tudou Inc.