‘America’s Got Talent,’ ‘Project Runway’ Among U.S. Shows in Chinese Video Deal

CANNES, France – FremantleMedia Intl. has extended its content deal with the Chinese video-on-demand platform Youku, which is second only to YouTube in terms of worldwide viewership, averaging 130 million unique users a day. Hit U.S. series such as “America’s Got Talent” and “Project Runway” are among the shows included in the deal.

The agreement, which was originally signed in 2013, has been extended for another three years. The deal ensures that a variety of FMI’s entertainment and drama content continues to be available to Chinese online audiences. FMI was one of the first independent distributors to strike such a deal of this scale with the platform.

Taking a wide selection of content exclusively for its VOD channels, youku.com and tudou.com, more than 100 hours of FMI programming will be available on Youku, which has 240 million mobile users.

Ganesh Rajaram, FremantleMedia Intl. executive VP Asia, said: “While local content is a big thing in China, Youku has managed to build a loyal base of video enthusiasts who will be able to enjoy some of our best-known shows for another three years, once again demonstrating their mass appeal around the world.”

Yang Weidong, president of Heyi Group (Youku Tudou), and CEO of Alibaba Music Group, said: “We will make joint efforts to bring high-quality content to young users in China through constant collaboration, and Youku will endeavor to introduce successful series to China from the world.”

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