56.com expected to resume operation next week

One of the top three video web sites in China (www.56.com) has been closed since June 4, to this day has been a full 1 months. The company's explanation is that "all video data is being maintained and the system is being upgraded on a large scale". But a number of video web site insiders told reporters, up to 1 months of "shutdown" because of its monitoring of video content is lax.

Although the person in charge insists on opening the website in the near future, but the personage in the industry thinks, the shutdown January has already taken its basic to leave the first camp, I am happy the net vitality is difficult to recover, invests the tens of millions of US dollar venture capital loss will be very heavy.

Some website operators believe that this incident to the whole industry, including hundreds of millions of of venture capital sounded the alarm.

One-month visit rate drops 80%

"We have not yet confirmed the timing of the recovery, specific to see our site announcements." "I Berjie, the marketing director of Beijing, told reporters yesterday. Starting from June 4, I suddenly closed the network can not log in, June 9, its web site issued a bulletin, said that the current video data is being maintained and a large-scale upgrade of the system, and said the site will resume service as soon as possible.

The inability to access for up to 1 months has caused a huge loss of users in the site. Alexa data show that my network throughout the June, the daily visit rate dropped more than 80%, the site's traffic ranking from 3 months ago, the average 110, down to close to 1000, a large number of users to competitors, including potatoes, Youku and other rivals.

One of the top two video web site leaders told reporters that a long period of time can not be normal access to the operation of the site is "devastating". To give a simple example, before the Tudou has accepted the 1-day penalty, in such a short period of 1 days, its rival Youku's traffic has a wave of climbing, let alone 30 days.

CCW Information Internet analyst Yang Ke that the current video site is still "circle users" and expand the business model stage, the user's loyalty has a strong test. Site users tend to have clustering, they leave my network in other places to create a new circle, may never come back.

200 million yuan wind is stuck

The rise of my network almost with Youku in the same period, its founder, the current company CEO Zhou Juan by many fans as "China's most beautiful CEO." China University of Science and Technology graduated Zhou Juan before NetEase has 6 years of work experience, successful operation of NetEase personal homepage, mailbox and other products, in May 2005, she officially quit the founder of My Music network.

Now the most anxious, in addition to Zhou Juan, the company entrepreneurs, there may be a group of venture capital, because I le net shutdown means that their tens of millions of dollars of investment may be wasted.

It is understood that the venture capital of My network has the famous Sequoia Capital, as well as Disney's Haina Asia VC funds.

Public data show that in the second half of 2006, Sequoia Capital Investment in the first round of My Network, 2007, Disney's Haina Asia venture capital to join the round of financing, the total amount of investment of more than 10 million dollars; at the end of last year, I won the net from HPE, SIG and other overseas venture capital led by the second round of financing 20 million, so that the influx of hot money to the site reached 30 million U.S. dollars (about 205 million yuan).

And do not discuss when the site can be restored, after the return to normal to achieve before the flow and number of users, still need to invest how much money? How much more capital is willing to pay for risky sites? These are all unknowns.

3-year listing target is difficult to achieve

"Basically dead, unless they have unlimited capital. "For this, the Internet legend Mr Xie see very clearly.

"VCs enter the site to make a profit, and the profit is not an indefinite wait." "Before, including Ding Fai, and a group of VCs have told reporters about the principle of venture capital projects, 3 years is basically a more recognized investment period." And when the president and CFO of My Network, Zhang Fuching, made a public interview in April, the site planned to go public in 3 years without excluding the possibility of takeover, which coincided with the general expectations of VCs.

But after a 1-month shutdown, a 3-year listing may be a distant goal for my network. Some insiders said: "At least two-thirds of users lost, the site can be said to basically return to the starting point, that is, to restore to the level before the stop, at least tens of millions of dollars to invest, and then wait two years time." What's more, the current competitive landscape is quite different from what it was two years ago. ”

Youku, Tudou's head also said that the industry is now a general increase in the threshold of funding, the two sites currently financing total of more than 80 million U.S. dollars. Obviously, in such a sinister pattern, has crashed into my network of 30 million of dollars to "solve the set" is how difficult.

Reporter as of press, from the peer to get the latest news, I hope that the net next week to resume. But after the recovery, how will the site continue? Left to the management and investors, I am afraid is a more difficult competition problem.

Video network fierce competition resembles 8 years ago Portal

My network is facing the dilemma is only the current dozens of mainstream video sites and hundreds of millions of yuan hot money brutal competition in miniature. A number of industry insiders believe that the experience of video licensing and capital cash flow of the double shuffle, the 2008 domestic video site pattern is replicating the 2000 portal competition pattern, and ultimately survive and development may only a few.

Similar to the Web portal 8 years ago Competition

"It should be said that the current video site competition and the 2000 domestic portal has a lot of similarities, of course, there are some obvious differences." "Excited network President Zhang He that 2008 of the video site and 2000 years on the portal site, there are three special like, the first is the impact of rapid amplification, as the 2000 China portal, the 2008 video site, the number of users and clicks Rose quickly; second, the number of users increased, According to a June cnnic survey, the number of users using online video is already up to 160 million, that is, every 1.3 users have a video user, which is similar to the 2000 portal penetration; third, advertising is still not good to sell, and the 2000 portal site is generally difficult to make a profit like, At present, many video sites have not found a profit model.

8 years apart, there are a lot of money sought after, but the biggest difference is that the 2000 mainstream portal site has been listed successfully, a lot of venture capital success, and now the wave of video site has not come to market. For nearly 1 billion hot money in the video industry, it is unclear when it will be possible to recycle investment and make a profit.

Double shuffle of licences and capital

Youku CEO Koo also said that from the input, the current video site hit the money almost the same year as the three portal level is the same. However, he believes that the three major portals before the profit balance is basically four or five rounds of financing, so this is the objective law of the Internet. One consequence of the ever-increasing influx of hot money is that the industry's entry barriers to survival are higher. Once into the video industry, the big shot Chen Yizhou also to reporters sigh, too high bandwidth cost to most of the video sites are losing money to operate.

Together with the capital to shuffle the industry also has video license. Zhang He that the issuance of video licences has far-reaching implications for the industry as a whole. To be sure, the video license plate can not be unlimited, and there is no license plate is not only related to the user trust, advertising business, but also related to the survival of the site.