SHANGHAI, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Youku Business Division (Youku BD), a unit of the Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group, and Oriental DreamWorks, today announced a three-year licensing partnership for the release of a DreamWorks Animation premium family entertainment content bundle in China. The new content will be available exclusively to users of Youku, Tudou and Tmall Box, the set-top box developed by Alibaba home entertainment business Unit.
The bundle is one of the largest of its kind in terms of volume and range, and will enrich even further the entertainment content for users of Youku, Tudou and Tmall Box -- three of the major platforms within Youku BD. These platforms continue to innovate and raise the bar in terms of a high-quality digital entertainment experience. With this partnership, Youku BD aims to further expand its content library and strengthen its leading position as a one-stop family entertainment content platform in China.
Yang Weidong, President of Youku BD said, "The agreement is our largest in the family entertainment category to date, building on our leadership in animation -- one of the most popular categories on our platforms. Through providing quality content, Youku BD continues to grow in terms of reach and services delivered. The newly acquired family content will enable our platform to play a more important and integrated role and add the benefit of enhancing our business within the OTT (over-the-top) space."
Frank Zhu, CEO of Oriental DreamWorks said: "We value the long and successful collaboration with Youku Business Division on content including Kung Fu Panda franchise, and we are delighted to enrich the family entertainment content for Chinese audience through this landmark partnership."
The first content release is targeted for January 2017 and will include a wide assortment of well-known titles including the popular Kung Fu Panda, Shrek, and How to Train Your Dragon franchises. The bundle will also include upcoming feature films such as Boss Baby, Captain Underpants, and How to Train Your Dragon 3. TV series including Blackstar, Casper's, and the upcoming Troll Hunters will also be available to viewers.
As China's leading digital entertainment platform, Youku BD has built the industry's most expansive content library with several thousand movie titles from around the world and covering approximately 95% of the movies shown in Chinese cinemas. Youku, Tudou and Alibaba home entertainment business collectively have become the No.1 destination of overseas content looking to reach China's internet viewers.
The partnership was built on previous successful collaboration between the parties on the Kung Fu Panda franchise. Oriental DreamWorks achieved immense success and made the animated characters a part of Chinese consumers' everyday life through the support and channels made available by Alibaba and Youku.
About Youku Business Division (Youku BD)
Youku Business Division, a pillar of the Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group, has been formed through the combination of Youku, Tudou and Alibaba home entertainment business unit. Inaugurated in October 2016, Youku BD is China's leading digital entertainment platform and its business spans PC, TV and mobile devices. Its wide-ranging content contains copyrighted content, co-produced content, in-house productions, UGC/PGC (User/Professionally Generated Content), live webcast, and VR (Virtual Reality). Youku BD's business lines include subscription services, games, smart hardware and artists brokering, connecting content creation, marketing & promotion, merchandising and fans economy to form a complete value chain of media and entertainment. With its diverse content portfolio, strong platform and creative technologies, Youku BD delivers compelling audio & visual entertainment across devices, and caters to consumers' growing needs for interaction and innovation.
About Oriental DreamWorks
Oriental DreamWorks is a joint venture backed by China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group, Shanghai Alliance Investment Limited and Hollywood' s DreamWorks Animation SKG. Oriental DreamWorks thrives to create the highest level of family entertainment content and experience for Chinese and global consumers through services including but not limited to Film Production, Theatrical Marketing and Distribution, Copyright Operations, Ancillary Business (Consumer Product, Joint Promotion, Interactive Entertainment and Location-based Entertainment) development and operations. Oriental DreamWorks has also created and distributed the first American-Chinese animation "Kung Fu Panda 3," one of the most well-drawn animated films in China.
For more information regarding the company, please visit our website at www.oriental-dreamworks.com.
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