Youku to Foster New Generation of Filmmakers with Youku Presents

BEIJING, Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Youku Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), China's leading Internet television company, formally launched its new "Youku Presents" initiative to promote young filmmakers with the premiere of "Operation Thanksgiving," a series of short web movies by five promising young directors sponsored by Youku Presents.

Youku Presents offers budding directors guidance and support, including the sponsorship, resources, and promotion they need to bring their films from vision to reality. This new initiative also provides these young directors the opportunity to reach an audience of over 300 million viewers through Youku's platform. Youku Presents builds on the successes of Youku Original, which has attracted ambitious young directors to the platform. Youku currently receives about 80,000 user generated uploads per day.

"Over the past three years," said Youku Senior Vice President Frank Ming Wei, "Youku has had the privilege of working with talented young directors to bring their work to the public -- from 'Hip-Hop Office Quartet' to last year's 'Old Boys.' We are delighted to preserve that tradition with Youku Presents, and we look forward to fostering new talent for years to come as we tap the creative potential of our users and the commercial potential of our platform."

"Operation Thanksgiving" is the first major Youku Presents project. The five directors, some web awards winners from this year's Beijing College Student Film Festival who received sponsorship from Youku's Young Directors Support Plan, will produce five short web movies related to the theme of Thanksgiving and aimed at encouraging young people to thank the people who have helped them in their lives.

Timed to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday, "Operation Thanksgiving" is a spiritual successor to the "11 Degrees New Media Film Project," which ran from August to November 2010 (the "11 Degrees"). Produced by Youku Original and Chevy Cruze, the "11 Degrees" campaign generated nationwide discussion regarding its depiction of Chinese youth striving to make their way in the world. "11 Degrees" proved wildly popular, leading all Youku films by total video views (103 million), total comments (131,900), upvotes (1.1 million thumbs-up), and social media retweets (more than 26 million).

Taking part in "Operation Thanksgiving" are directors Angelina Zhu, with "Sticky Fingers"; Yang Miao, with "Dad and Dead"; Lan Haitao, with "Travel with Love"; November Studio with "One Night in Beijing"; and Shen Qinyuan, with "Warnings from the Corners." The series will culminate in "Father," a hotly anticipated new film from the Chopsticks Brothers, the team whose "Old Boys" was the runaway hit of "11 Degrees". "Father" was produced separately from the rest of the "Operation Thanksgiving" films, with support from Chevy Cruze, the original sponsor in "11 Degrees".

The Young Directors Support Plan, Youku Presents, and Youku Original are only three of the ways in which Youku works to support creative talents. The Company also sponsors a number of online and offline support programs and community building efforts, from online discussion groups for young filmmakers, regular online presentations of new works, to partnerships with major Chinese film festivals and offline film screenings. The scale and reach of Youku's platform have also drawn some filmmakers and sponsors to leverage it in viral campaigns.

Youku pursues a hybrid content strategy, which focuses on offering a combination of licensed professional content, in-house production from Youku Original, and user-generated content.

About Youku

Youku Inc. is China's leading Internet television company. Our Internet television platform enables users to search, view and share high-quality video content quickly and easily across multiple devices. Youku, which stands for "what's best and what's cool" in Chinese, is the most recognized online video brand in China. Youku's American depositary shares, each representing 18 of our Class A ordinary shares, are traded on NYSE under the symbol "YOKU".

For more information, please contact:

Media Relations:
Jean Shao
Director, International Communications
Youku Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5885-1881 x7128
Email: [email protected]

Investor Relations:
Ryan Cheung
Corporate Finance Director
Youku Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5885-1881 x6090
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Youku.com Inc.