Koo strategy: Developing products around video

After months of consolidation preparation, the Youku potato merger was passed at both shareholders ' meetings yesterday and the Youku Potato Group officially kicked off the curtain. Koo will serve as chairman and CEO of the group and Wang as board director.

Compared with the last excitement, my mood today is optimistic. "Youku CEO Koo yesterday to meet the daily economic news reporter, for the first time to talk about Youku and potatoes merger details and future strategy, said the future will revolve around the video competitiveness of product development."

However, the dilemma before him is, "one plus one more than two" ideal can really achieve? After the merger of the video carrier can again rely on capital to go further?

Twice tried to merge

Since 2006 Youku Online, and potatoes in contention for the first video site is quite difficult on the road, only a weak lead in the competition.

But in the capital market, Koo did not give Wang too many opportunities. December 8, 2010, after 5 months of road play, Youku official IPO, the first round of financing 233 million U.S. dollars, the second round of financing 593 million dollars. Potatoes were listed in the late half of the year, only 174 million dollars.

"In fact, we thought about merging as early as 2008," he said. "Koo revealed," mainly price problems, both are not listed companies, valuations are hard to say, both sides may feel that they are worth more. ”

After the end of 2010 Youku listed, Koo again found Wang Micro, and then the potato finally decided to IPO, so that the plan again stranded.

In fact, after the listing of potatoes, Sina, Chimei and Sohu videos have been the subject of potato negotiations. For Youku, once potatoes have worked with other video sites, it will be a challenge to the Youku industry's first position.

Koo knows this, and to that end, he needs to be more active in touching potatoes. February 16 this year, in the Kunlun Hotel, Koo, Youku's largest investor Li Shime, GGV's Jixun and Youku Potato Group President Liu Dele held a meeting.

In Koo's view, after this meeting, everything became natural. February 24, the original Koo from Beijing to participate in the Oscar decision to the Hong Kong transit and the King of Hong Kong to meet. "We were basically hammered out in three days because they were public companies, and some things were transparent," he said. "Koo said.

March 12, Youku and Tudou announced that the two sides will merge into a public company.

It is widely believed that the most exciting part of the merger is that the two sides did not use a single cent of cash.

In this respect, Koo said, the reason for the choice of stock exchange is because both sides are optimistic about the development of the video industry, joint venture is the best way, the interests of both sides are bound together, a certain period of lock-in, and to ensure that resources do not drain.

No timetable for break-even

"In considering the merger, we think Tudou is the best in terms of user size, brand influence, revenue size and cash reserves." After the merger, we will further explore the potential of Tudou and enhance its competitiveness and enhance the diversity. "Koo said.

Today, the external concern is whether Koo can effectively adjust the profit model, breaking the video industry's Burning Money "curse."

As Koo said, "a company, two brands, two websites, two sales systems", potatoes will remain the independence of their brands and platforms. However, the number one second is not the panacea for maximizing profits.

Hitwise's traffic figures point out that the current potato has been kicked out of the first camp by Sohu Video, which may be an uncertainty for the Youku Potato Consortium.

Koo told reporters that after the merger with the potato reduced operating costs and content costs, but the balance of payments have no specific timetable, is still a large-scale investment period, is expected to 2013 content purchase costs will be significantly reduced.

For the future merger of the group, Koo also have their own plans.

According to him, the future Youku Potato Group will form Youku, Tudou, search and other brands, and will hatch more around the video field of derivative products, the current two users of the daily coincidence rate of 14% or so.

"We will build cooperation in mobile apps, homemade content forms, and film and distribution channels." Koo said that in the next few years, the company's development direction is around the video field of core competitiveness to extend.

Don't rule out finding new objects

For the combined business of Youku potatoes, Koo said it would uphold two principles: one is the orderly, the second is the gradient is not a mutation. Partial backstage business to the main, according to statistics, advertising, media resources, front-end business to the main, such as products, channels, homemade content. Cool potatoes will be in the film and television copyright purchase, bandwidth server procurement, background data integration, as well as search, media, advertising system and other aspects of the implementation of synergy.

For the question of Youku and the homogeneity of the potato, Koo doesn't think so, in his opinion, if the user chooses potatoes, he will not choose Youku, so it is not homogeneous.

"Youku potatoes have a lot of space to develop, including user-paid mode, product distribution mode, and web-based content collaboration." "Youku has been trying to offer itunes or Netflix-type services in the US and China over the past year, including subscriptions, video-on-demand or other, which will be shared with potatoes," Koo said.

However, Koo that the biggest problem of integration is the human problem, which is what the outside world usually says about cultural integration. "Beyond the capital conditions, the humanities are often underestimated." It is thought that our temperament is very different, in fact, our experience, hobbies and many similar places, two enterprises attach importance to the implementation of the promotion of pluralism, open and open-minded culture is also basically consistent. ”

At the end of the interview, Koo told the Daily economic news that the biggest effort is still in the new group, and that the future will not rule out finding new mergers.

When the reporter asked what kind of objects will be acquired, whether it will consider the odd art of backing search resources, or even relying on the Tencent Empire, Tencent Video, Koo revealed a "sly" smile, "you said that the search, social and video combined with a better value-added factors." ”

"Everybody talk to everybody. (Everyone can talk) "Just as the question of whether to buy potatoes, now Koo still use this sentence in English to express the acquisition of other video objects attitude." This may mean that new stories will come up in the future.