China’s YouTube has found a place for itself in the country’s broadcasting industry as the host of submissions made by hundreds of contestants in a nationwide talent contest.
Youku has partnered with satellite TV firms and record labels on Legendary Me, a televised music competition.
It says videos it is hosting of would-be superstars auditioning to camera have been viewed more than 15 million times since March.
Mirroring YouTube’s own journey, Youku and rival Yudou have each been signing TV and movie content over the last couple of years, in addition to their core user-uploaded videos. In March, they proposed merging in a deal valuing Tudou at $1 billion.
Youku’s just-released annual report disclosed a 27.3 million RMB ($4.3 million) annual net loss on 142.6 million RMB ($22.6 million) revenue.
Youku also just gained an Internet Publication License, required for online services to operate in China, from China’s government, allowing it to publish over web and mobile.
YOKU Revenues data by YCharts