Youku and Tudou, two online video services in China that offer free
viewing of foreign films including those in Hindi, are now knocking
the doors of US investors. This is ironical for two reasons. They have
often been accused of violating copyright and copying the Youtube
model. They are now hitting the US market ahead of an initial public
offer by Youtube itself.
For instance, recent Hindi movies like Guzaarish, Action Reply and
Gomaal 3 were available at these sites on Saturday evening. Even in
China, Youku is facing charges of intellectual property rights
infringement by software portal Chaoxing at a Beijing court.
Youku, the highest grosser among online video sites in China, expects
to raise $154 million before listing in the US next week. Tudou plans
to follow suit soon after with its own initial public offer. This will
be followed by another IPO move by a new US based video site, Hulu,
which is backed by media heavyweights General Electric Co's NBC
Universal, Walt Disney Co and News Corp.
Online video sites, which let users do to upload their own videos,
streaming clips, movies and television shows, have become hugely
popular among China's 420 million Internet users. Though they have
managed to attract a lot of advertisement, these sites have not been
able to establish themselves as profitable companies.
Unlike the pay TV companies in the US, the Chinese video sharing sites
do not charge subscription. They depend almost entirely on
advertisement revenue.
Read more: Chinese video site showing Bollywood films all set to hit
US stock market - The Times of India
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