Youku


Alibaba’s Youku taking Saturday Night Live into China

A Chinese Saturday Night Live (SNL) is in the works, with Alibaba-owned online platform Youku making a local version of the long-running NBC comedy series. China’s SNL will be the flagship entertainment show in Youku’s fall/winter line-up. The format is distributed by NBCUniversal, which struck the Youku deal. It is the latest agreement for a local version […]

Discovery, Chinese MCN target millennials

Discovery Communications and Chinese MCN VS Media have launched Tan Ba, a new digital service that programmed with shortform content. Aimed at Chinese millennials, the Tan Ba content will come from Discovery’s vast programming catalogue, and be customised and localised by VS Media, which Discovery bought into last year. Content on Tan Ba will be […]

Alibaba OTT nets bag exclusive DreamWorks deal

Alibaba’s over-the-top services in China will get exclusive access to content from Oriental DreamWorks after signing a three-year agreement. Included in the deal is upcoming SVOD series Trollhunters (pictured), which previously did not have a home in China as Netflix does not have distribution in the territory. Films such as Kung Fu Panda, Shrek and […]

Video app streaming booms in US, China

Video apps are experiencing significant revenue growth in the US and China, according to new research. Combined revenues from the top ten streaming apps in the US and Cina have grown by multiples of 3.2 and 9.6, respectively, the App Annie research showed. However, a third market assessed, the UK, showed relatively flat growth of […]

First presenter-led show for 500m-view Barcroft

Online channel Barcroft TV has commissioned its first presenter-led series as it passes the 500 million YouTube views mark. The UK-based operator – which is also distributor via AOL On Network, Yahoo Screen, Japan’s GyaO! and China’s Youku – has greenlit Top 5 Shorts, a weekly round-up show featuring Barcroft’s most popular and commented-on content. […]