China Mobile "Migu Music Concert" a watershed in China's Internet video industry

BEIJING, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Youku.com, China's leading Internet video site, will broadcast the "China Mobile Migu Music Concert" live online on Sunday evening, December 20.

This marks the first time that the star-studded pop music concert will be broadcast over the Internet. In previous years, broadcast was exclusively through television stations. "This just verifies what we've known for some time: That Internet video has moved into the mainstream, and it's the best way to reach young Chinese music fans today," said Victor Koo, Founder and CEO of Youku.com.

This year's China Mobile (CHL) Migu Music Concert features some of the hottest acts in China today. Artists were invited to perform based on the total number of ringtones their songs had seen downloaded in 2009 to date, and among those appearing will by Asia's biggest pop sensation, Jay Chou; singer Li Yuchun, who catapulted to fame after winning the 2005 Super Girls singing competition; Zhang Liangyin, another Super Girl who was among the final contestants in the 2005 season and narrowly lost to Li Yuchun; Chinese-American singer Wang Leehom; Hong Kong singer and actress Karen Mok; and the Taiwan girl-group S.H.E.

In April, Youku broadcast a live concert sponsored by Nokia (NOK), featuring eight popular musical acts. The broadcast received 6.5 million unique visitors, who performed over 50 million interactions with artists, including voting, sending virtual flowers, and blowing virtual kisses. Viewers were able to vote for which band they wanted as an encore performer; the winner, Sodagreen from Taiwan, picked up 10 million votes.

The December 20 show will feature a similar competition, with interactive voting and virtual gift-giving as well. Viewers can once again choose from multiple camera angles, as well as a backstage camera that will allow fans to get up close and personal with their favorite artists.

"Just a couple of years ago, Internet video was still something pretty novel in China," said Mr. Koo. "Today, Internet video has permeated life for not only China's netizens, but for our advertising clients as well. Advertisers are really discovering that Internet video is a terrific complement to traditional television."

Mr. Koo added. "These kinds of events, mind you, are still something we're experimenting with. They don't represent the main business model for Youku, but we're really excited to work with our partners to make this kind of content available."

About Youku

Youku (http://www.youku.com ) is China's leading Internet video website and premier online video brand. It is the top destination for Chinese Internet users around the globe to watch and share videos. In addition to user-generated content, Youku also works with more than 1,500 professional media partners to distribute online videos in China. Youku was officially launched in December 2006, and now delivers more than 160 million video clips a day. Youku's users spend more than 40 billion minutes per month on the website.

SOURCE Youku

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