How Youku went from being China’s YouTube to China’s Hulu
Once known as China’s YouTube, Youku pivoted away from user-generated video to professional content, and is now closer to Netflix or Hulu. Merged with rival Tudou in 2012.
Imagine if YouTube pivoted to licensing and producing professional content years ago, transitioning away from user-generated videos to become more like Netflix or Hulu.
This more or less sums up the story of Youku Tudou, a major Chinese video streaming company. To many, Youku, the company’s flagship site, is often dubbed the YouTube of China because of its close resemblance to the Google-owned streaming site in its early years and its strong focus on user-generated content.
However, that reputation perhaps no longer rings true given what Youku is today. The Alibaba subsidiary has been pivoting towards licensing TV shows and producing original content. If you fire up Youku today, you might be just as likely compare it to Hulu as you would to YouTube.
(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.)
While it was once the biggest platform for user-generated content, Youku is now best categorized as one of China’s top video streaming sites for professional content.
The YouTube of China
Before Youku existed, video-sharing site Tudou was founded by Gary Wang and Dutchman Marc van der Chijs on February 15, 2005, the day after YouTube was founded in the US. About a year later, veteran internet entrepreneur Victor Koo founded Youku.
