BEIJING, Nov. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Youku Tudou
Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), China's leading
Internet television company, today announced that it has entered
into a strategic partnership with Xiaomi. The partnership aims to
accelerate the development of its multi-screen media and
entertainment ecosystem. The two companies will jointly develop
content and technology, including developing multi-screen online
video services. Xiaomi will invest in Youku Tudou by acquiring the
latter's stock on the open market. It will also license content
from Youku Tudou, and the two companies will jointly invest in the
production and distribution of online video content and movies.
As the No. 1 app and web-based video platform in China, Youku Tudou leads the way in producing
original content among Internet companies. Top original content
like Searching Divas, On the Road, the Tudou Video
Festival and UGC channels have attracted fans to Youku Tudou,
forming a large community over time. Youku Tudou's monthly active
user base has exceeded 500 million and its daily video views have
passed the 800 million mark. Youku App has most recently become the
second most popular Chinese mobile app in terms of user time spent,
according to iResearch. Youku Tudou's ability in producing original
content will provide strong support to the Xiaomi family of
hardware by making the user experience more compelling, and will
help to boost average revenue per user.
Xiaomi is China's leading
Internet company with over 85 million active MIUI users who are
known for their strong brand loyalty to Xiaomi. The sales and
market share of Xiaomi's smartphones and hardware have been growing
steadily. In their respective quarterly reports for Q3 2014,
renowned research firms including IDC, Strategy Analytics and
Canalys ranked Xiaomi the third-largest smartphone vendor in the
world after Samsung and Apple. Both the Mi Box - Xiaomi's set-top
box - and the Mi TV are beloved by users. For example, during
Alibaba's Tmall Singles Day sale that took place on November 11, Xiaomi's Mi TV achieved three
milestones in its product category -- it was the first in terms of
overall sales, the first product for which 10,000 units were sold,
and the first to break the RMB 100
million revenue mark.
"Both Youku Tudou and Xiaomi have been pioneering multi-screen
ecosystem development in the mobile internet era. With the
new partnership, we'll leverage our respective capabilities to
strengthen our ecosystems and to enhance user experience.
Both Youku Tudou and Xiaomi have had initial success in developing
intellectual properties and building fan economy for future revenue
growth. We will work closely to unlock further opportunities
in this area going forward," said Victor
Koo, Chairman and CEO of Youku Tudou.
Xiaomi's founder and chairman and CEO Lei Jun named this
partnership as the inaugural project for Chen Tong, VP of content investment and content
operation, who joined Xiaomi last week and previously served as
Sina.com's editor-in-chief and Executive Vice President. Tong is
spearheading Xiaomi's efforts in TV and video content with
Wang Chuan, a Xiaomi co-founder and
VP of the company. Recently, Lei Jun announced that Xiaomi will
increase its investment in content, with an initial pledge of
US$1 billion.
"Youku Tudou has been a leading force in original content
production among Internet companies, and Youku Tudou's user base
and Xiaomi's fan community are closely associated. The partnership
will bring the development of the Internet industry in China to the next level," added Wang Chuan, VP and co-founder of Xiaomi.
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."
SOURCE Youku Tudou Inc.