Alibaba-owned video site Youku strikes a deal with Netflix for its ‘Day and Night’ series
Netflix has signed an agreement with Chinese video site Youku for the rights to its series ‘Day and Night’, which has had four billion views since its launch in August.
Netflix buys the rights to Youku drama 'Day and Night'
The series, published on the Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group’s video website, will be aired in 190 countries and marks the first time the Chinese company has made a deal of this nature.
The 32-part detective series will sit on its own dedicated channel, adding to Netflix’s growing Asian content pool. Netflix said earlier this year that it was planning to spend over £1bn on original programming but gaining popular local content is also a key part of growing its user base to over the 100m mark.
Yang Weidong, president of Youku, Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group, said: “We are proud to partner with Netflix in this ground-breaking distribution agreement. Cultural industry is undergoing robust growth in China, and I believe the export of high-quality content will help people around the world gain a better understanding of the soft power of China. I’m delighted that Youku can become a pioneer in driving this initiative with this overseas distribution of our Day and Night series.”
The series is part of a major commitment from Youku on original programming and saw the company bring in big name Chinese TV stars to increase the production investment. According to Alibaba, the series has had over 4 billion views on Youku alone.