优酷 / Youku

Youku is the early Chinese web-video platform founded by 古永锵 / Gu Yongqiang and discussed in No.204 互联网视频平台混战：从后舍男生到漫长的季节 | 中国互联网故事21. The episode frames Youku’s first advantage as product and infrastructure: fast playback, stable service, lightweight design, bandwidth spending, servers, and CDN coverage.

Youku later becomes a copyright-era and consolidation case. Rising rights costs and competition with 土豆网 / Tudou led to the 2012 Youku-Tudou merger, and Alibaba later acquired the combined company as part of a larger entertainment push.

Connections

• 古永锵 / Gu Yongqiang — founder and CEO figure in the episode.
• 土豆网 / Tudou — early rival and later merger partner.
• Online Video Copyright Regime and Chinese Long-Video Platform Economics — industry forces that changed Youku’s business.
• Video Membership Model, iQIYI / 爱奇艺, 腾讯视频 / Tencent Video, and 芒果TV / Mango TV — later long-video competition frame.