Big plans for the small screen

• Source: Global Times
• [13:32 July 06 2010]
• Comments

Obsession with being first

Todou.com brags that the new plan is the first to produce an original online television series, though other domestic online websites have been producing their own television series for years now.

Smgbb.cn, a video website from the Shanghai Media Group (SMG), made its own television series Addiction three years ago.

Youku.com, another domestic video website, has also been producing its own series over the past few years.

Youku.com unveiled its new production plans in April and announced its cooperation with the China Film Group Corporation (CFGC) earlier in June, inviting 11 popular young directors to make short films on the 1980s generation.

"We aim to use professional film studios and leading filmmakers to make content adaptable for online broadcasting," said Wei Ming, senior vice president of operations at Youku.com.

Wei believes that cooperation with experienced filmmaking groups can enhance their own productivity. "This, more importantly, will result in more content for the website," he added.

"We did it long before we marked it with 'Produced by Youku.com,' and they (Tudou and others) follow us very tightly," Wei said.

The success of Hulu.com in the US (which makes money from online advertisements by broadcasting copyrighted television shows and films) seems to indicate a new direction for domestic video websites, which are closely following the UGC (User-generate Content) method of sites like Youtube.

Surviving their first five years of start-up, the Chinese domestic video websites, to some extent, have established their business model and have begun to earn money to support their development.

But the heated competition has pushed the whole industry into its second start-up period, which confronts the booming 3G market and a more discerning audience.

"They all need additional money to survive another five years, so there should be some new ideas to attract investments," said Lily Pan, an experienced online prod-uct manager.