SINGAPORE, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Viki, Inc., the global TV site powered by fans, today announced a video advertising partnership with BBC Worldwide. The partnership leverages the strong sales and operations team at BBC Advertising, BBC Worldwide's advertising sales business, to help Viki meet global interest and demand for video advertising opportunities in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The deal follows a partnership announced last year between the two companies, including a BBC Worldwide content licensing agreement and strategic interest in Viki's Series B funding.
Through the advertising partnership, Viki offers top brands visibility among coveted young Internet consumers through premium video content, including TV shows, movies and music videos across the web and mobile devices screens, from web to mobile to Smart TV. Earlier this year, Viki ran successful campaigns for several leading CPG brands in South East Asia.
"With viewership growing by millions each month, we are excited to partner with BBC Worldwide and to connect with globally-focused and innovative advertisers, said Razmig Hovaghimian, CEO and co-founder of Viki. "The appetite for premium global video with local audiences is proving to be compelling for advertisers, especially with the highly engaged audiences found on Viki."
BBC Advertising, part of BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, sells advertising and sponsorship solutions on behalf of BBC Worldwide's commercial portfolio across broadcast, online and mobile platforms globally.
"Viki brings both popular and undiscovered global entertainment to video hungry audiences in hundreds of markets," said Chris Dobson, MD Global Advertising Sales at BBC Worldwide, "and being able to offer this audience, alongside those we generate through our BBC services, extends the spectrum and diversity of media opportunities we can take to advertisers across the world."
Viki offers premium global content for the world's leading genres including Korean dramas, Japanese Anime, Spanish novellas, Bollywood, and award-winning independent films from many countries. The company has distribution deals with Hulu, Netflix, Yahoo, MSN; as well as content from BBC Worldwide, NBC, A&E; TVB in Hong Kong, SBS in South Korea, Fuji TV in Japan and Amedia in Russia.
About Viki
Viki is international video site accessed from over 200 countries around the world, with TV shows, movies and other premium content, translated into more than 150 languages by a community of avid fans. With over 1 billion videos viewed and 200 million words translated, Viki uniquely brings global prime-time entertainment to new audiences and unlocks new markets and revenue opportunities for content owners. In 2011, Viki announced $20M in Series B funding from strategic investors include BBC Worldwide and SK Planet, a subsidiary of SK Telecom; as well as from existing investors Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Charles River Ventures and Neoteny Labs, among others.
About BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The company exists to maximise the value of the BBC's assets for the benefit of the licence fee payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has five core businesses: Channels, Content & Production, Sales & Distribution, Consumer Products, Brands, Consumers & New Ventures, with digital ventures incorporated into each business area. In 2010/11, BBC Worldwide generated profits of 160 million pounds Sterling on sales of 1158 million pounds Sterling and returned 182m pounds Sterling to the BBC. For more detailed performance information please see our Annual Review website: www.bbcworldwide.com/annualreview
