Youku Inc., China's leading Internet television company (the "Company"), announced yesterday that it had signed an agreement to extend its successful partnership with m1905.com, a leading online movie site wholly owned by China Central Television's CCTV-6. Under the one-year agreement, effective March 1, 2012, Youku will offer on-demand viewing for movie titles to which m1905.com holds exclusive online distribution rights during 2012, including new films such as Wind Seeker.
Developed and wholly owned by CCTV-6, China's only nationwide dedicated movie channel, m1905.com is one of the country's leading purchasers of online movie distribution rights. Youku first partnered with m1905.com in early 2011 for on-demand viewings of Let the Bullets Fly, a Chinese box office record breaker directed by Jiang Wen. Youku accounted for two-thirds of total on-demand video orders for the film.
The new agreement will give Youku access to all new movie titles for which m1905.com has purchased exclusive online distribution rights. Films will typically become available for on-demand viewing within 45 days of the end of their theatrical run, which typically lasts 30 days.
"We are pleased to continue the successes of our previous partnership with Youku," said Xiaojie Liu, m1905.com's General Manager of Business Value-Added Department. "With this expanded partnership, we have great hopes for establishing the online on-demand paid viewing window as a key of the industry distribution chain."
"Our internal data shows that a fast growing number of Youku users are willing to pay for convenience and quality in online film viewing," said Huilong Zhu, Vice president of Movie Operations and Corporate Development from Youku. "Whether for top domestic films or major international pictures, we believe that our partnership with m1905.com will potentially benefit millions of movie lovers and China's fast-developing film industry."
Youku Premium, Youku's on-demand platform, offers high-quality licensed content from major production houses and distribution agencies, including Warner Bros, Paramount, and 20th Century Fox. Since launching in beta a year ago, Youku Premium has processed more than 1 million paid orders, which includes both pay-per-view and subscription orders.