Beijing – South Korean variety shows have topped Tudou.com’s (a subsidiary of Youku Tudou Inc.) must-view lists for young and social media-savvy Chinese viewers. With titles from Korean television stations SBS, KBS, and MBC, Tudou’s collection has attracted almost 100 million total views.

Tudou offers 15 Korean variety shows, six of which are exclusive to Tudou. According to data from Youku Index, the target audience of Korean variety shows is generally between ages 15 and 35. According to iResearch, Tudou reeled in about 190,000 young viewers per day in June 2013. iResearch data also shows that Tudou.com grabs 30-50% of the market share for this demographic in China across online platforms.

Interactive, social-media-friendly features help Tudou gain such popularity with a young audience. After School Club recently inked an exclusive webcasting partnership with Tudou, where Tudou will host a “virtual video party” during each episode, inviting viewers to interact with the show in a number of ways, from chatting with celebrity guest starts to participating in contests. Alongside Tudou’s live broadcast, After School Club will be screened live on YouTube in the United States with viewers joining in through Twitter. 

In-house production also helps feed South Korean fever on Tudou. Tudou Groovin’, an original music show, each week features one episode dedicated to Korean music. Tudou Groovin’ has proven to be successful not only with viewers, snagging a total of 178 million views since early 2013 and an average of more than 800,000 views per episode, but also with sponsors like  youth-friendly brand Jeanswest.

Weidong Yang, President of Tudou.com, said, “The massive popularity of Korean shows is only the latest sign of Tudou’s success among young, fashion-forward viewers. Since our merger with Youku.com, we have gone a long way toward shaping our unique image. From our arthouse and indie move channel, Japanese cartoons and live webcasts of popular shows to the Tudou Original Empowerment Project, our newly-established fund to support fresh talent, our voice grows more distinct every day.”