Baidu to join the online video crowd

Information has filtered on Monday 4 of January , that Baidu (百度) will create a new website dedicated to  online video. According to reports on various Chinese news sites, the project is well under way and should launch around this March. It is also said, that for this purpose Baidu will build a new company and that they already have raised 60 million dollars from investors.

Baidu, offers a popular internet search engine, among other services, and also has the biggest Chinese web based ad network. It  is not completely new to the video business, since it already has a video search.

Online video is quite a crowded space now in China and it is not only about sharing private videos. Many TV programs, soap operas. etc are available on these platforms. Youku (优酷)’s CEO has been quoted saying that during the next two months his company would probably sign an agreement with one of the US major film studios to offer its movies on Youku’s website.

Other contenders in the online video business in China are PPStream, Ku6 (酷6), PPLive and Tudou (土豆). Most of these companies are saying that they will be profitable in coming years (mostly through advertising). Many have plans to eventually get listed overseas. Even the Chinese Central Television recently launched a new platform to watch their content online.

Baidu’’s financial situation is quite strong and there were some speculations, that it would enter online video by buying another company. But it seems they decided to start from scratch. The fact that they are late to the game is not necessarily a disadvantage, given their size and strength. It also allowed them to wait until the industry became more mature and the rules in terms of copyrighted content more precise.

Chinese sources: 百度进军视频行业本周揭幕 搜索流量变现提速; 百度控股新视频网站：龚宇任CEO 细节本周宣布; 优酷称希望三年内实现盈利及海外上市