國內民營視頻網站2010年試水收費

File photo. China's private video websites, such as Xunlei, Cool 6 and tudou.com, will promote a new operating model this year, according to Guangzhou Daily. Payment will be required to watch some videos on these sites; others will remain free of charge.

?????? 據《廣州日報》報道，迅雷、酷6、土豆等國內民營視頻網站將在年內推行“免費+收費”的全新經營模式。

?????? 日前，在線視頻網站迅雷表示，在2月底推出正版視頻內容點播收費服務，同時不再允許用戶上傳內容。

?????? 迅雷首席運營官羅為民介紹，迅雷推出的高清在線視頻服務——“紅寶石影院”將提供版權清晰的收費高清影視內容。“紅寶石影院”內容收費大約1-2元/片；如果是包月用戶，費用將降到幾毛錢/片。

?????? “現在的點播會繼續免費，與收費電影在清晰度、速度方面會有所差異，”羅為民介紹。

?????? 同時，國內另一個知名視頻網站酷6網也表示，將推行向用戶收費的模式，作為酷6廣告模式的補充

?????? 酷6網首席執行官李善友透露，酷6網未來將分為高清視頻和網友視頻分享兩個網站，而熱播的高清電影不排除向用戶收費。

?????? 國內最大的視頻網站土豆亦宣稱，在今年晚些時候啟動部分視頻收費計劃，并希望收費視頻在未來能占據一個合理比例。

?????? 根據中國互聯網信息中心最新的報告，截至2009年底，網絡視頻用戶規模達到2.4億，較2008年底增長3844萬，占所有網民總數的三分之二。如此龐大的用戶群，假如收費模式得到普及，視頻網站的收入將大大提升。

?????? 然而，在國內某門戶網站所做的隨機調查結果顯示，愿意為視頻點播付費的網友只有383名，而不愿意的則達到6095名。

?????? 如今大呼“免費+收費”模式口號的是迅雷、酷6、土豆等民營視頻網站，而新浪、搜狐、網易等大型門戶網站的視頻頻道，還有去年底剛上馬的中國網絡電視臺，里面的內容都是免費，其中不乏熱播的高清電影和電視劇。

Chinese private video websites to charge in 2010

China's private video websites, such as Xunlei, Cool 6 and tudou.com, will promote a new operating model this year, according to Guangzhou Daily. Payment will be required to watch some videos on these sites; others will remain free of charge.

Online video service provider Xunlei has announced that its paid service for copyrighted video content will be in operation by late February, when users will not be allowed to upload videos either.

According to Luo Weimin, COO of Xunlei, its premium online video service, "Ruby Theater", will provide copyrighted high-definition movies to Internet users for set fees. Viewers will have to pay one to two yuan for each video-on-demand movie played by "Ruby Theater", while monthly subscribers only need to pay a few tenths of a yuan per movie.

"The present videos on demand will still be free, but a certain gap exists between them and paid movies in definition and speed," Luo said.

Meanwhile, another domestic well-known video site, Cool 6, also announced plans to push forward its charging model among users, which is said to supplement its advertising model.

Cool 6 will be developed into two parts: high-definition videos and netizens' video sharing, said Li Shanyou, CEO of Cool 6. There is a possibility of charging users for high-definition movies.

Tudou.com, the largest Chinese video website, indicated it will charge for some of its videos late this year and increase the number to a reasonable proportion.

According to a report from China Internet Network Information Center, as of the end of 2009, China's online video users amounted to 240 million, 38.44 million more than the previous year and accounting for two thirds of the present netizens. If the charging model achieves popularity among such a large number of users, these video websites will greatly increase their income.

However, in a random survey by a Chinese web portal, only 383 netizens said they would be willing to pay for video-on-demand service while 6,095 said they would not.

Private video websites, such as Xunlei, Cool 6 and tudou.com are all keen to charge for content but video channels of large web portals including Sina, Sohu and NetEase, as well as CNTV, China's state Internet-based television station, launched in late 2009, are taking no action. At present, they all offer free video content, with no exception for high-definition movies and TV dramas.

(China.org.cn translated by Wang Wei, February 26, 2010)