Bradshaw's Blog

Chinese Youtube Company Called Youku Takes A Step Into The U.S. Market News just came out that a Chinese company called a "clone of Youtube" just had its initial public offering and the shares of the company shot up from what they expected to raise. What that means is there's a Chinese Youtube (called Youku.com - how clever) that is setting itself up to be in competition with Youtube. The company itself is comparatively tiny when you look at its numbers against Youtube's, but you have to remember that China is the 2nd largest Internet market in the world and if this company has little in the way of legitimate competition (think in terms of advertising dollars), it has, and will continue to grow by leaps and bounds, sucking in viewers in the far east and around the world. At that point it could pose a legitimate threat to Youtube's pre-eminence. That could take years, but you can bet the furrowed brows at Youtube HQ have noticed this new player in the game. ...