Youku
Encyclopedia
Youku.com Inc. doing business as Youku , is a video hosting service
based in the People's Republic of China
.
of Chinese Internet portal Sohu
. Initial funding for the site came from 1Verge, a fund raised by Koo. A beta version of the site was launched with limited geographic reach in June 2006, and the website was formally launched in December 2006. In 2007, the company received $25 million in funding from venture capitalists. In December 2009, the company announced that it had raised a total of $110 million in private equity funding. Major investors include Brookside (Bain) Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, Maverick Capital, and Chengwei Ventures.
The company initially emphasized user-generated content but has since shifted its focus to professionally-produced videos licensed from over 1,500 content partners.
As of January 2010, Youku.com was ranked #1 in Chinese Internet video sector according to Internet metrics provider CR-Nielsen. In 2008, Youku partnered with Myspace
in China. Later that year, Youku became the sole online video provider embedded in the China Edition of
popular web browser Mozilla Firefox.
In January 2010, Youku and competitor Tudou announced the creation of a video broadcasting exchange network, under which Youku and Tudou will cross-license professionally-produced video content.
Youku recorded gross revenues of 200 million RMB in 2009.
On December 8, Youku was listed at the New York Stock Exchange
for its first time. The stock closed at $33.44 on its first day of trading giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $3.3 billion. For the first 9 months of 2010 Youku reported revenue of $35.1 million and recorded a loss of $25 million during this period. YouKu.com seems to have no relation to the Chinese domain youku.cn.
Youku's video library includes many full length, popular films and TV episodes from the West. Viewers from around the world can see these films on Youku for free, though often with Chinese subtitles. Other popular sites such as Youtube
cannot display this content because of copyright restrictions, but these laws either do not exist in China or are poorly enforced, enabling Youku to broadcast copyrighted content from their website without license. In January 2010, Youku implemented a digital fingerprinting technology intended to eliminate copyright infringing content on the site.
Some Youku videos are blocked to international IP addresses because of licensing issues.
Video hosting service
A video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video...
based in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
History
Youku was founded by Victor Koo, former PresidentPresident
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Chinese Internet portal Sohu
Sohu
Sohu.com, Inc. is a search engine company headquartered in the Sohu.com Internet Plaza in Haidian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. This company and its subsidiaries offer advertising, a search engine, on-line multiplayer gaming and other services. For the fiscal year ended December...
. Initial funding for the site came from 1Verge, a fund raised by Koo. A beta version of the site was launched with limited geographic reach in June 2006, and the website was formally launched in December 2006. In 2007, the company received $25 million in funding from venture capitalists. In December 2009, the company announced that it had raised a total of $110 million in private equity funding. Major investors include Brookside (Bain) Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, Maverick Capital, and Chengwei Ventures.
The company initially emphasized user-generated content but has since shifted its focus to professionally-produced videos licensed from over 1,500 content partners.
As of January 2010, Youku.com was ranked #1 in Chinese Internet video sector according to Internet metrics provider CR-Nielsen. In 2008, Youku partnered with Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
in China. Later that year, Youku became the sole online video provider embedded in the China Edition of
Mozilla China
Mozilla China is a non-profit organization to help promote and deploy Mozilla products in China.Mozilla China was founded on March 4, 2005. It is independent of the Mozilla Foundation, but is affiliated with them....
popular web browser Mozilla Firefox.
In January 2010, Youku and competitor Tudou announced the creation of a video broadcasting exchange network, under which Youku and Tudou will cross-license professionally-produced video content.
Youku recorded gross revenues of 200 million RMB in 2009.
On December 8, Youku was listed at the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
for its first time. The stock closed at $33.44 on its first day of trading giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $3.3 billion. For the first 9 months of 2010 Youku reported revenue of $35.1 million and recorded a loss of $25 million during this period. YouKu.com seems to have no relation to the Chinese domain youku.cn.
Features
Youku permits users to upload videos irrespective of length. Youku has partnered with over 1,500 license holders, including television stations, distributors, and film and TV production companies in China that regularly upload media content on the site.Youku's video library includes many full length, popular films and TV episodes from the West. Viewers from around the world can see these films on Youku for free, though often with Chinese subtitles. Other popular sites such as Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
cannot display this content because of copyright restrictions, but these laws either do not exist in China or are poorly enforced, enabling Youku to broadcast copyrighted content from their website without license. In January 2010, Youku implemented a digital fingerprinting technology intended to eliminate copyright infringing content on the site.
Some Youku videos are blocked to international IP addresses because of licensing issues.
Further reading
- Youku Information at Business Week
External links
- Epstein, Gady. "China Groupon Clones’ Strategy: Burn Money Like Youku.com." ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
. May 3, 2011.