Youku Nabs Streaming Rights for Inception

BEIJING: The Chinese online video streaming site Youku.com has secured a deal with Warner Bros. to bring the box-office hit Inception to Chinese audiences via its on-demand paid service Youku Premium.

Youku will stream the movie through its Youku Premium on-demand service, which allows web users to watch it on various devices, including their mobile phones. In addition to online on-demand broadcast rights to Inception, Youku also has online resale rights for the film. Youku has set up a dedicated page for Inception, where paying users can watch the film on Internet-connected device as well as interact with other users to comment, share other film recommendations or discuss the movie.

Youku Premium was launched in beta in early 2010, enabling users to watch advertisement-free premium content, such as HD movies. In addition to films, the service features more than 10,000 hours of lectures and self-study materials offered in partnership with ChinaEDU, Crystal Education and other partners.

"Through building long-term partnerships with copyright holders and communicating with our media partners, Youku Premium is creating a whole new way for people to find and watch the content they want, when they want it," said Youku’s founder and CEO, Victor Koo.