Media Leaders discuss Potential of Online Video Market

The range of services for Internet video users - online payments, search facilities, HD (high definition) and social media applications - have big potential in China\'s market of about 280 million people, top industry executives said during a Magnolia Forum yesterday at the 17th Shanghai TV Festival.

"Everyone knows that people are watching online videos and the key point is how to provide them with a unique experience," said Zhang Dazhong, vice president of Shanghai Media Group. "Better experiences lead to success in competition," he added.

SMG currently provides video services on platforms such as traditional TV, IPTV (Internet Protocol TV), computers, tablets like iPad and mobile phones, Zhang said at the forum Summit on the "Strategy of Media Industry in the OMNI-Media Age".

SMG also has established a TV shopping mall with a "fast and one-click" payment system, which allows users to pay for products directly through TV, Zhang said.

Other summit speakers, from Youku.com, Xunlei.com and Tencent Inc,agreed with Zhang\'s assessment of the Chinese online video market\'s potential and outlined the various services they provide video users.

Youku vice president Zhu Xiangyang said the 280 million people watching online videos amounted to 61 percent of China\'s total online population. Youku, the country\'s No. 1 online video provider with more than 40 percent market share, was listed on the New York stock market last year.

Liu Chunning, online video division general manager of Tencent, said the country\'s online video advertising market revenue was expected to reach 2 billion yuan this year. He said it was forecast to hit 14 billion yuan within the next five years.

Youku will expand its content from TV drama and film to growing sectors like video music, cartoons and entertainment to penetrate the "young with high income" Internet video market in China, Zhu said. It is kicking off services for users like video search engine Soku and Youku Index, said Zhu.

"Many players already provide online video services and the challenge is how to provide unique user experiences," said Xunlei\'s chief executive Zou Shenglong.

Xunlei, which provides download services to millions of users, is trying to diversify its income stream from an advertising-only business model. It\'s testing a direct charge system for HD video downloads, special higher download speeds and mobile video services.

Tencent, which runs instant message service QQ and mini blog (Weibo), plans to integrate their social functions with online video to encourage the development of user-generated content (UGC).

Also during the summit, equipment makers such as Lenovo, Sharp and Samsung talked about their "smart TV" strategies.