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The president of Alibaba’s streaming service, Youku, has stepped down and is believed to be co-operating with Chinese officials as part of a potential corruption case. Yang Weidong, who has worked at Youku for around five years, joined the company before it was fully acquired by Alibaba in 2015. "(Yang) is understood…

Tom Hardy's Taboo has headed for China after Alibaba and Youku struck deals for the FX and BBC drama. The two companies struck the deals for the period thriller with The Media Pioneers, a UK-China media group run by Managing Director Maggie Liang. It will air on the digital platforms of both firms. Produced by Scott…

Cinedigm has reached an agreement with Chinese video streaming giant Youku to distribute 30 of its original feature films in North America, a significant milestone in Los Angeles-based firm’s efforts to distribute contemporary Chinese-language content in the U.S. Under their partnership, Cinedigm will attempt to…

The Chinese adaptation of Saturday Night Live has been pulled from Chinese digital platform Youku. The remake of the NBC Universal format has been taken down from the service after launching a few weeks ago. The fourth episode of the Chinese show was due to launch last weekend but did not air and the previous episodes…

ITV is said to be mulling a joint venture arrangement with the BBC by acquiring the 50% of British broadcaster UKTV that is currently owned by Discovery. BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide) already holds the other 50% of the company and has an option to buy the Discovery stake which it would then immediately sell to…

Alibaba-owned SVOD service Youku is leading a content arms race in China and expects to spend billions of dollars on original programming and international co-productions over the next few years. The digital platform launched in 2006 has already disrupted the country's staid programming market, but its drive to create…

Alibaba-owned Chinese SVOD service Youku is developing a drama with Sony Pictures Television after revealing that it looking to step up its partnerships with the Hollywood studios. The Chinese digital broadcaster also lifted the lid on a number of other original projects at the Mip TV market in Cannes, where…

Chinese SVOD service Youku has partnered with Endemol Shine Group to develop two non-scripted original series. The digital platform will develop and produce the big-budget formats with the 21st Century Fox-backed producer and distributor. The deal comes as Youku bolsters its presence in the original space with Weidong…

SVOD service Acorn TV has acquired the U.S. rights to FremantleMedia International's crime drama No Offence. The digital platform has picked up the first two seasons of the series, which was created by Shameless and State of Play creator Paul Abbott. The drama, which is produced by AbbottVision for Channel 4, is a…

Thousands of hours of Disney TV series and movies will be available in China after the Hollywood studio struck a major streaming deal with Alibaba's SVOD service Youku. More than 1,000 episodes of Disney animated series will be made available, including DuckTales and My Friends Tigger & Pooh, while live-action movies…

Netflix is to launch a Chinese detective drama in more than 190 markets after striking a deal with Alibaba-owned Youku. The SVOD service has picked up Day and Night, a 32-part series. The series, which launched in August and has secured more than 4B views in China, follows a detective who attempts to clear his twin…

Saturday Night Live is heading to the Middle Kingdom. NBCUniversal has announced a partnership with Youku, a unit of Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group, who will produce a localized version of the hit show in China. Over the last few years, ten international versions of Saturday Night Live have been licensed…