ITV

Tag: Youku Tudou

  • China’s maiden ‘Big Brother’ shot on Endemol Shine India’s sets

    China’s maiden ‘Big Brother’ shot on Endemol Shine India’s sets

    MUMBAI: The Indo-China memorandum of understanding (MoU), which was signed between the two countries while Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China earlier this year probably showed its first practical prominence as Endemol Shine shot China’s maiden Big Brother season in India.

     

    Big Brother’s Indian adaptation – Bigg Boss is shot in Lonavala, which is in the outskirts of Mumbai. The sets in Lonavala are erected at a factory leased by Endemol. However, the set, which was used to shoot for the first ever Chinese edition was that of the Kannada version of Big Boss. It was on these sets, which were rebuilt to suit the international version where Chinese contestants dramatically fought to win the first ever title.

     

    Endemol Shine India, which has a rich experience of producing eight seasons of Bigg Boss so far with the ninth season set to launch in October, facilitated the Chinese branch of the production house with a 400 member crew. There were 40 representatives from China and together they executed the first edition of Big Brother China, which will be telecast by online platform Youku Tudou.

     

    This is the first time in the show’s global history that it will beam on a digital platform. China’s Youku Tudou platform garners traction of 580 million unique visitors every month and was the ideal choice to showcase the show in order to get maximum eyeballs.

     

    According to sources close to the development, the planning was going on for a very long time and the two counterparts held rounds of talks before the final execution. The decision to shoot in India under the guidance of experienced people who have been associated with various editions of Bigg Boss was primarily to use the infrastructure and expertise, which will eventually result in huge cost savings.

     

    The Chinese team brought in their creative directors, story editors, and remote camera operators, whereas the rest was executed by the Indian crew. The huge lingual differences within the team comprising members from the two respective countries were erased by translators. “Most of the communication were happening in English,” a source present on the sets of Big Brother China in India informs Indiantelevision.com.

     

    According to a senior official in the production fraternity, the two most populous country of the world shaking hands to execute an entertainment project is massive boost for the media and entertainment industry. “I hope this is just the beginning and we have many more such collaborations going forward. Such associations are rejuvenating and certainly a matter of pride for the industry,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

     

    In India, Bigg Boss 9 is set to unveil soon on Colors and the show with Salman Khan as the host is eagerly awaited. “It was not the Bigg Boss India sets, which were used for the Chinese edition shoot. The India set is exclusively used only for India edition,” said a source close to the development.

     

    Endemol Shine China managing director William Tan, Youku Tudou senior director Amy Shundong Xu, Rebecca De Young, who was once a producer of Big Brother UK and Endemol India CEO Deepak Dhar were amongst those spotted around the sets. Big Brother China shoot got over on 18 September, 2015 and the Chinese team will be flying back immediately.

  • Youku Tudou licenses Paramount’s movie titles for TVOD

    Youku Tudou licenses Paramount’s movie titles for TVOD

    MUMBAI: China’s Youku Tudou, Inc has entered into a content licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures that will bring more than a hundred film titles from Paramount Picture’s library to Youku Tudou.

     

    Popular franchises and titles such as Transformers, Shrek, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and Forrest Gump will be viewable through Youku Tudou’s subscription service and select future Paramount releases will be available through TVOD.

     

    Youku Tudou’s subscription service currently offers a wide selection of content from both foreign and domestic studios. More licensed content as well as Youku Tudou web-native content will be added on an ongoing basis.

     

    “The consumer-driven demand for premium online services in China is growing rapidly. With top branded content such as Paramount Picture’s array of films, our commitment to enhancing our subscription services to create a premium experience and drive consumer-based revenue continues in earnest,” said Youku Tudou chairman and CEO Victor Koo.

     

    With this agreement, Youku Tudou now has a library of over 4,000 movie titles that encompass domestic, foreign and original productions.

  • Disney pacts with China’s Youku Tudou to market Marvel films online

    Disney pacts with China’s Youku Tudou to market Marvel films online

    MUMBAI: Disney and China’s online video platform Youku Tudou have partnered, wherein the latter will be the exclusive online movie marketing platform in China for Marvel collection of movies and TV series.

     

    Youku Tudou will drive online marketing through promotion of trailers, online ticketing, live events and original programming dedicated to silver screen movies.

     

    Youku Tudou’s strength as the leading online movie marketing platform in China comes from its market position. Leveraging its 500 million unique monthly users across screens, marketing efforts are able to disseminate across Youku Tudou’s media and entertainment ecosystem resulting in greater audience impact than traditional offline movie advertising.

     

    Disney and Marvel titles resonate with Youku Tudou’s audience with over 530 million cumulative views of titles across movies, television series, trailers, Youku Tudou original productions, and live-streaming.

     

    Online marketing efforts contributed to boosting the box office revenue of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy and in the case of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, to almost 800 million, compared to 80 million RMB of the previous installment of the franchise in China. The trailers and Youku Original productions for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy have over 41 million cumulative views with over 15.8 million combined movie VOD views on the Youku Tudou platform. The Avengers: Age of Ultron trailers and Youku Original productions have received over 25.7 million cumulative views with the movie currently in theaters.

     

    “We are committed to expanding our media and entertainment ecosystem by working with strong partners. These partnerships, like the one with Disney, are multifold and give Youku Tudou the opportunity to use its strengths to further its business model and drive future revenue streams through high-quality content, innovative marketing efforts, and merchandising channels,” said Youku Tudou chairman and CEO Victor Koo.

  • Chinese giant Alibaba mulls part sale of film assets

    Chinese giant Alibaba mulls part sale of film assets

    NEW DELHI: The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which is now investing a major share in the entertainment sector, is considering selling of some of its start-up film industry assets.

     

    The businesses could be transferred to Alibaba Pictures Group (APG), the film production and investment company that has its own separate share listings in Hong Kong and Singapore. 

     

    Alibaba has major share stakes in integrated film and TV group Huayi Brothers Media, rival studio Enlight Media, Internet TV group Wasu Media, and online video platform Youku Tudou. 

     

    Alibaba chairman Jack Ma’s Yunfeng investment fund also has a major stake in Hong Kong’s Media Asia, according to Variety.

     

    “The possible business injection would be comprised of Alibaba Group’s (i) online movie ticketing business and (ii) financing and investment platform for the production of movies and other media content, both of which commenced operations in 2014,” APG said in a statement. 

     

    However, the deal is yet to be finalized, as APG said, “This new strategic direction calls for an integrated approach towards the funding, production, marketing and distribution of entertainment content.” 

     

    The proposed transfer would appear to exclude many of Alibaba’s larger and more mature film industry assets. 

     

  • Chinese IPTV company inks 3 year broadcast deal with BAFTA

    Chinese IPTV company inks 3 year broadcast deal with BAFTA

    MUMBAI: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has inked a three year deal with Youku Tudou – China’s leading internet television company. The company will stream the EE British Academy Film Awards on 9 February, 2015 for the very first time, as part of this deal.

     

    Alongside the EE British Academy Film Awards, the BAFTA-Youku Tudou package includes streaming of the British Academy Games Awards, the British Academy Television Awards and the long-running series of on-stage interviews, BAFTA A Life in Pictures. IMG, a global leader in sports, media and fashion, brokered the deal on behalf of BAFTA.

     

    The EE British Academy Film Awards is among the leading international film awards ceremonies and regularly attracts the biggest names in the world to its red carpet, which last year included Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Amy Adams, Judi Dench, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hanks, Steve McQueen, Leonardo Di Caprio, Martin Scorsese, Michael Fassbender, Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson, Cate Blanchett, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Helen Mirren, Oprah Winfrey and BAFTA president HRH Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge.

     

    The nominations for this year’s ceremony were announced earlier this month: The Grand Budapest Hotel received 11 nominations. Birdman and The Theory of Everything were each nominated in 10 categories, The Imitation Game had nine nominations, Boyhood and Whiplash were each nominated five times, Mr. Turner, Nightcrawler and Interstellar received four nominations and Pride received three.

     

    The EE British Academy Film Awards take place on 8 February at The Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden. Stephen Fry will be returning to host this year’s ceremony, which will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One in the UK – preceded by a red carpet show on BBC Three – and in all major territories around the world.

  • Broadband Asia & TV Connect Asia 2013 returns to Hong Kong

    Broadband Asia & TV Connect Asia 2013 returns to Hong Kong

    MUMBAI: The ninth edition of Broadband Asia & TV Connect Asia 2013, Asia Pacific’s largest broadband and media event, is set to relocate back to Hong Kong.

    Co-located with TV Connect Asia, the conference and exhibition will highlight visionary new developments in TV and broadband, bringing together the two ecosystems and their leading figures from across the region.

    The event’s focus is reflected throughout its agenda which has an impressive speaker line-up that will give visitors exclusive insight into the latest advancements in mobile and fixed broadband, and the content evolution.

    The two-day event is made up of two programme tracks which complement each other to reflect the nature of the converging broadband and connected entertainment industry.

    Day One will address fixed access evolution, mobile and wireless opportunities, business models, the digital home, making TV multi-screen, and effective content delivery management, while Day Two will focus on leveraging broadband networks, capacity and accessibility, effective TV delivery and content business strategies.

    Combined keynotes will take place across both days with C-level speakers, including CSL, Celestial Tiger Entertainment, Youku Tudou, Hulu, Telstra, Telecom New Zealand and KT (Korea Telecom).

    As the event’s official Host Operator Partners, Hong Kong’s leading operators PCCW and HKT have come forward as supporters of the conference and exhibition.

    The event also has support from CSL, Pacnet and the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau for Hong Kong.

    The conference agenda also boasts a joint super session on Day Two, set to focus on tackling content piracy in the Internet Age. Here, leading figures from News Corporation, Media Partners Age, Motion Pictures Association, PCCW-HKT and CASBAA (Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia), will lead the discussion on this hot topic.

    Broadband Asia & TV Connect Asia HKT’s Group Managing Director, Alex Arena, will provide the host keynote.

    Arena comments: “PCCW and HKT are very excited to have this event return to Hong Kong where we look forward to greeting a wide range of delegates from across the region and beyond. This is a highly valuable opportunity for us all to meet new partners, discover new business opportunities, benchmark your own business and to gain insight into the hottest topics facing the broadband and TV industry in the Asia Pacific region.”

    Susie Ho, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology) at Hong Kong’s Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, will open the conference and exhibition with a Ministerial welcome address.

    Visitors will benefit from conference sessions delivered by over 150 visionary speakers and an exhibition featuring leading industry solution and technology providers.

    The event’s VIP Executive Summit is also back for another successful year, taking place on Day One and bringing together top executives in the industry for an exclusive exploratory session.