Youku Tudou, China’s largest online video site with more than 450 million users, is seeking to step up engagement with its audience by letting fans directly connect with celebrities who appear on the site’s original programming.
It announced today the beta launch of an interactive entertainment platform called “Xingmeng” that is only available for use on PCs now, but will be released on mobile in the future. The platform lets fans access live broadcasts of performances or programs in separate channels, while also being able to chat online and gift virtual goods at the same time. Youku Tudou says that live video chat will be made available soon.
Other than engaging fans, the platform will also help budding Internet stars develop a fan base, get revenues from the sale of virtual goods, and “depending on their popularity, have the chance to be a part of Youku Tudou’s in-house produced microfilms, Web serials, variety shows, and other entertainment, which normally attract millions of views.”
Thumbnail image via Spencer Platt / Getty Images
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