While the U.S. and China reached an agreement about making the Chinese market open to more U.S. films during Xi Jinping’s U.S. visit, YOU on Demand, a pay-per-view content service, has signed a deal with Disney Media Distribution to give access to viewers to films in China. The Associated Press reports:
Also last week, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. announced plans to set up a $330 million joint venture in Shanghai to make Chinese animated and live action films.
Disney, which is building a theme park in Shanghai, has begun ramping up its business in China. It has licensed to the Chinese online video company Tudou Holdings Ltd. the right to show films and shows such as “Cars 2,” ”Revenge,” and “Castle” to online customers on demand for a fee.
Still, limits remain. YOU says the films its mainland Chinese viewers can watch will be those that are “officially approved.”
In the third-quarter of last year, YOU reported a net profit of $544,000, compared with a loss of $9,546,000 in a year earlier. The company says it expects its performance to improve with the recent introduction of its pay-per-view and subscription video services.
YOU on Demand started two years ago, and unlike other companies YOU has a 20 year agreement with the state-run pay-tv CCTV Channel 6.
