Viki Climbs The Great Firewall, Signs With ?China?s Facebook? Renren For Its First Video Distribution Deal In The Country

Online video site Viki has made a big business out of aggregating content from around the world, covering 150+ languages in all, and making it accessible to all by crowdsourcing translations from its community of users. Now that pool of viewers is set to get a little deeper with a new distribution deal with Renren, known as the Facebook of China, which will see Renren create a special channel called VikiZone on 56.com, its video sharing network. This is the first time that Viki has partnered with a third party to power its online TV service. The deal not only promises a new swathe of Chinese viewers to the Viki -- Renren has 160 million registered users in the country and will be promoting VikiZone heavily to them -- but it is also a mark of how Chinese online video sites and consumers' tastes are becoming more international, and are looking for more professional content to meet that demand. Coincidentally, today's news follows just days after Youku -- the biggest online video site, known as China's YouTube, and?competitor to 56.com?-- announced a deal covering blockbuster films from NBC Universal.

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