Global TV streaming service, Viki will next week launch a Chinese content service for viewers outside China. The Rakuten-owned company has also partnered with Xiaomi, the world’s third largest smart phone manufacturer.
The new service launches with nearly 350 shows and movies from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It will be available in Mandarin and Cantonese language versions from Viki’s website and as mobile apps.
The partnership with Xiaomi is intended to optimize integration of the localized Chinese site on the Xiaomi mobile browser and make Viki’s licensed content available in Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil.
In June, Viki signed a supply deal with China’s Huana Baina Film & TV for its slate of TV dramas. It also has deals with Sohu, iCNTV, and Huace Film & TV. Recently Viki signed a co-production deal with China’s Jetavana Entertainment for Viki’s first original series “Dramaworld,” which will be released in Spring 2016.
"As the Chinese entertainment industry establishes itself as an entertainment powerhouse globally, Viki is uniquely positioned to stream its TV shows and movies to a new audience of fans around the world, as well as the growing Chinese diaspora,” said Tammy H. Nam, Viki CEO. “More than half of our viewership of top Chinese shows such as ‘My Best Ex-Boyfriend’ and the recent historical hit ‘Nirvana in Fire’ comes from the United States.”
Much of Viki’s sub-titling is done by linguistically-able fans of the shows it carries. It operates in more than 200 languages and has close to 40 million viewers each month.