What is Youku and how to get started

Youku, also known as 优酷, is one of China's top online video and streaming service platforms and operates as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group.

By the 21YunBox Compliance Team·Reviewed 2026-10-07·Verified against primary sources

What does a foreign company need to distribute content or run a brand presence on Youku in China?

Streaming Youku is open to anyone; distributing your own films or shows on it — or running a monetizable brand channel — is a licensed, foreign-capital-restricted activity. The real gate is a state-controlled broadcast permit you publish through and a mainland entity or local partner to contract with, not a Youku account.

Youku, Alibaba's long-form video platform, runs on an Information Network Dissemination of Audio-Visual Programmes Permit, and under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and Ministry of Information Industry's Order No. 56 (互联网视听节目服务管理规定) that permit can be held only by a "wholly State-owned or State-controlled" operator. Foreign investment in the online audio-visual programme service itself is prohibited — a point a major PRC law firm states flatly — so a foreign studio or brand does not license or operate the service. It distributes content to, co-produces with, or advertises through Youku's permit via a China entity or licensed partner, and whatever it publishes is cleared under the operator's statutory content review. Separately, the audience and campaign data you handle is governed by PIPL. The guide below covers how Youku works and where a foreign business plugs in; this layer is the compliance map beneath it.

This is a risk map to work through with counsel, not a yes/no verdict — what applies turns on whether you license content, advertise, or run a presence, and on the personal data you handle. Our China team can map your path with you →

What a foreign business must clear to distribute content or advertise on Youku

Fact	Primary source
Making video available to a Chinese audience on Youku is a licensed activity, not an upload. Order No. 56 defines the regulated service broadly — the "production, editing, compilation and providing to the public through the Internet of audiovisual programmes, as well as providing uploading for dissemination … to others" (Article 2) — and bars anyone from carrying it on "without obtaining a 'Permit' … or carrying out filing procedures" (Article 7). The instrument is the Information Network Dissemination of Audio-Visual Programmes Permit, which Youku holds; a foreign company putting content on the platform operates under that permit, not one of its own.	Provisions on Internet Audio-Visual Program Services (SARFT/MII Order No. 56), Arts. 2 & 7 — DigiChina (Stanford) translation, retrieved 2026-10-07
That permit is closed to foreign capital — by rule, not by backlog. Order No. 56 requires the holder to "be a wholly State-owned or State-controlled work unit" (Article 8), and China's foreign-investment regime keeps overseas money out of the service itself: analysing the rules, the PRC firm Zhong Lun states plainly that "foreign investment in any online audio-visual programme service is prohibited," pointing to the prohibited-industries list for foreign investment. A foreign player therefore cannot hold the operating permit, nor take a controlling equity stake in the licensed operator — it has to work alongside one that already holds the permit.	Zhong Lun Law Firm, 'Regulation of internet content services in China,' §5.2 (foreign-investment prohibition); SARFT/MII Order No. 56 Art. 8 (DigiChina translation) — retrieved 2026-10-07
Where a foreign business does fit is the commercial layer around the permit — through a China entity. The same analysis notes that a licensed operator "may adopt a joint venture or co-operation model" for ancillary roles such as "programme production and sales," "advertising," "marketing and promotion" and "technical services," with the co-operation agreement filed with the regulator. That is the realistic route for a foreign studio or brand — license or co-produce content, or buy advertising, via a mainland entity or local partner — and running that as a commercial, for-profit online service also pulls in China's value-added telecom and ICP licensing layer.	Zhong Lun Law Firm, 'Regulation of internet content services in China,' §5.2 (ancillary JV/co-operation roles) & §1.2 (VATS for commercial operation), retrieved 2026-10-07
Whatever is distributed is reviewed — and the operator carries the liability. Order No. 56 requires programmes to "conform to the provisions of laws, administrative regulations and departmental rules," sets out ten categories of prohibited content, and makes a service's "main investors and managers … responsible for the content of disseminated and uploaded audiovisual programmes" (Articles 16 and 18); broadcast programmes must be "completely preserved for at least 60 days." Foreign content is cleared on the operator's permit and under its review duty, so editorial fit and review lead time are part of the gate, not an afterthought.	Provisions on Internet Audio-Visual Program Services (SARFT/MII Order No. 56), Arts. 16 & 18 — DigiChina (Stanford) translation, retrieved 2026-10-07
The personal data you touch through Youku is governed by China's data laws. Viewer, account and ad-campaign data you collect or receive is personal information under the PIPL; handling any of it on systems outside the mainland is a cross-border transfer, which PIPL conditions on notice, separate consent and a transfer mechanism (Articles 38–43). A critical-information-infrastructure operator or large-volume handler must "store domestically the personal information collected and generated within" China (PIPL Article 40; Cybersecurity Law Article 39, formerly Article 37). Where your Youku-related data lives, and who may move it, is worth settling with counsel before launch. How China's cross-border data rules work →	Personal Information Protection Law, Arts. 38–43 & 40 (China Laws Portal / NPC English text); Cybersecurity Law Art. 39 (formerly Art. 37, effective 2026-01-01), retrieved 2026-10-07

Sources verified by the 21YunBox compliance team on 2026-10-07.

About Youku

Youku, also known as 优酷, is one of China’s top online video and streaming service platforms and operates as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group.

Founded in 2003, Youku initially emphasized user-generated content. But unlike YouTube, which is banned in China, Youku later shifted its focus to professionally produced videos licensed from over 1,500 content partners.

On December 8, 2010, Youku was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2012, Youku and Tudou, two of the biggest online video companies in China, announced a merger, creating one of China’s biggest video sites, called Youku Tudou Video then. In 2015, Youku was acquired by Alibaba Group, with 580 million active monthly users last updated in 2019. Like most PGC content platforms, Youku has a premium membership subscription service, charging RMB 25 per month for some content and value-added services.

Now, as part of the Alibaba Group, Youku ads operate on algorithms by the Alibaba ecosystem and are thus quite effective for brands and businesses looking to reach local Chinese audiences across various demographics.

How To Get Started On Youku

Viewers

Create an account at Youku with a phone number or social login.

Businesses

Like most video-streaming platforms, Youku provides different advertisement formats, such as bumper and out-stream ads. To advertise on Youku, you may contact their team directly at https://acz.youku.com/wow/ykpage/act/contact.

Cost To Advertise On Youku

Costs for advertising on Youku range from 0.3 yuan to 140 yuan Cost Per Thousand (CPM). Refer to Youku’s full pricing here (updated 2020).

Do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese phone number or Chinese ID? We can help!

If you do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese ID, or Chinese phone number, which is essential to get on to Youku, 21YunBox is here to help.

We can provide the necessary supporting documents to use Youku and walk you through the process. Meanwhile, we will also bring your company, product, and service into full compliance with Chinese law.