BEIJING, April 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- China's leading satellite TV stations and
record labels joined Youku Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), China's leading Internet television company
("Youku"), in Beijing today to
announce the launch of "Legendary Me," a Youku-produced online
music talent show that is scheduled to debut next month. Since
early March, demo videos uploaded by Youku users for the show have
been viewed more than 15 million times.
Youku kicked off online campaign for "Legendary Me"
(http://niuren.youku.com/) last month, nearly three years after the
site launched its first online search for grassroots talents in
2009. The first spotlighted video for "Legendary Me" came from Liu
Meilin, a 17-year-old high school student, who recorded herself in
a hallway covering the song "With Love." (The song came to the
attention of the public this January when Faye Wong, one of the leading pop singers in
China, performed it on the CCTV
Chinese New Year Gala.) Liu's video
was viewed more than a million times within two hours of being
featured on Youku.
To complement its online selection of aspiring stars, Youku is
also conducting on-the-ground scouting campaigns in the cities of
Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu, Xi'an, Kunming, Changsha and Shenyang. Selected performances will be
presented on six episodes of "Legendary Me" starting in late May.
The show will also feature representatives from ten leading Chinese
satellite TV stations (including Hunan Satellite, Dragon, Anhui
Satellite, Tianjin Satellite and Liaoning Satellite) and ten top
record labels (including Warner Music Group, Rock Records and
Tapes, Sony Music, Typhoon Group and Enlight Media). These record
labels will be present during the show to offer television
performance opportunities or recording contracts to promising
singers on spot.
"The 'Legendary Me' campaign illustrates the ways in which
traditional media and new media can work together and compliment
one another's strengths," said Victor
Koo, Youku's chief executive officer. "We have always
advocated constructive partnerships between media outlets and media
platforms, and are excited by this new opportunity to leverage the
scale of our platform and our relationships with traditional media
to bring our talented viewers to the attention of the public. Youku
viewers have got talent -- and we are eager to help them share it
with the world."
The "Legendary Me" campaign is the latest in a long string of
successful efforts by Youku to promote grassroots talents. Since
2009, Youku has helped bring many "grassroots talents," such as the
street artist "Xidan Girl," the toddler Michael Jackson impersonator "Xiao Bao," and the migrant worker duo "Xuri
Yanggang" the fame and public attention that their talents deserve.
Last year, CCTV Chinese New Year Gala
-- the most-watched TV program in China -- invited some grassroots talents to
perform live on stage, and all of these talented rising stars were
originally promoted on Youku's platform.
"Legendary Me" is sponsored by food and beverage company
Yinlu.
About Youku
Youku Inc. is China's leading
Internet television company. Our Internet television platform
enables users to search, view and share high-quality video content
quickly and easily across multiple devices. Youku, which stands for
"what's best and what's cool" in Chinese, is the most recognized
online video brand in China.
Youku's American depositary shares, each representing 18 of our
Class A ordinary shares, are traded on NYSE under the symbol
"YOKU."
For
more information, please contact:
|
|
Media
Relations:
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Jean
Shao
|
Director,
International Communications
|
Youku
Inc.
|
Tel:
+86-10-5885-1881 x7128
|
Email:
shaodan@youku.com
|
|
Investor
Relations:
|
Ryan
Cheung
|
Corporate
Finance Director
|
Youku
Inc.
|
Tel:
+86-10-5885-1881 x6090
|
Email:
ryan.cheung@youku.com
|
SOURCE Youku Inc.