Youku Tudou enters the hardware business

Youku Tudou Extends Consumer Outreach With New BU and Hardware Launch

BEIJING — Youku Tudou Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), China’s leading Internet television company, today announced the launch of its Cloud Entertainment business unit and the unit’s first batch of hardware products consisting of a WiFi router, smart TV box, and large Android tablet.

Headed by Youku Tudou’s Chief Technology Officer Leo Yao, the Cloud Entertainment business unit becomes Youku Tudou’s fourth consumer facing business unit after Youku, Tudou, and Heyi Pictures. The unit’s responsibilities are multi-fold, spanning from developing hardware and services that make Youku Tudou’s content more accessible to users to operating games, and to making the user experience more compelling.

“We have been progressively building our multi-screen media and entertainment ecosystem and taking our business to the next level. Now, we are taking a step further to extend our outreach into people’s homes and offer a more comprehensive consumer media and entertainment package, which will help drive average revenue per user.” said Victor Koo, Chairman and CEO of Youku Tudou.

“Now that Youku Tudou has built the largest user community of online video in China, this expansion will ensure that Youku Tudou’s content and services reach all Internet enabled screens in the forms that our users want, and offer a seamless experience across devices,” said Leo Yao, CTO of Youku Tudou and President of Youku Tudou’s Cloud Entertainment BU. “We’re developing the software, hardware, and services to execute our grand vision. Games and digital home entertainment hardware are just the beginning.”

The three devices announced today will hit the market in January 2015. The WiFi router forms a P2P-based content delivery network, accelerating video content delivery to Youku Tudou’s users and helping to lessen Youku Tudou’s bandwidth usage. The smart TV box is capable of delivering 4K Ultra HD video and running the most demanding Android games on the market flawlessly, enhancing the viewer experience. It will transition to Aliyun OS in the next stage with a suite of Alibaba services, including Xiami music and online shopping. The Android Tablet sports a 15.6 inch screen, designed for users who want video viewing, Internet surfing and casual gaming all in one device.