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Indiantelevision.com's Digital Edge

China's Youku expands slate with NBCU licensing deal

Indiantelevision.com Team

(12 July 2012 6:48 pm)

MUMBAI: Youku, China’s leading Internet television company, has entered into a multiple-year agreement with NBCUniversal International Television Distribution for the video-on-demand rights in China to a broad collection of current, library and upcoming NBCUniversal feature films.

The new agreement covers upcoming NBCUniversal release in addition to a yearly rotating selection of more than 100 classic titles from NBCUniversal’s catalogue.

These will include Contraband, Safe House, The Lorax, and summer tentpole releases Battleship and Snow White & The Huntsman. The new films will appear on Youku’s platform for paid on-demand viewing after their China theatrical releases.

The films — including Schindler’s List, The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III and Apollo 13 — will be available for on-demand viewing through Youku Premium.

“Youku has been steadily broadening and deepening our partnerships with Chinese and international studios. Our new agreement with NBCUniversal is one more step forward towards our goal of offering the highest quality content to Youku’s more than 300 million viewers. The new agreement best demonstrates the confidence that we and our partners share in the growth of Youku Premium," said Youku’s vice president of movie operations and corporate development Huilong Zhu.

Youku already had licensing with major studios including Disney, Paramount, Dreamworks, Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox.