Youku Tudou outlines vision for merged company_美文

Youku Tudou outlines vision for merged company

Download

Youku Tudou Inc, China's biggest online video provider, is stepping up efforts to manage its two online video websites after a merger that combined the two biggest web-video competitors into a single company.

The newly merged company plans to keep Youku.com and Tudou.com as distinct players to target different kinds of users, an effort that comes amid some analysts' doubt about whether the merger can bear fruit as the company expects.

Tudou.com will position itself as a video website for "fashion" and "youth", while Youku will be more of a "mainstream" online-video provider, the company said on Wednesday. It was the first time the company talked about its strategic plans since the merger was finalized last month.

Tudou.com will present its new homepage and provide a series of self-produced entertainment programs, among other efforts to emphasize its brand positioning, in the coming three months, said Yu Zhou, Tudou's chief strategy officer.

Youku and Tudou used to be the two biggest players in the market. However, when measured by revenue, Tudou dropped out of the top three in the second quarter.

Youku had 21.5 percent of the online video market in China in the quarter, followed by Iqiyi.com's 10.2 percent and Sohu.com’s 9.8 percent, according to the domestic research company Analysys International. Tudou ranked fourth with 8.6 percent.