国内民营视频网站2010年试水收费

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.

       据《广州日报》报道，迅雷、酷6、土豆等国内民营视频网站将在年内推行“免费+收费”的全新经营模式。

       日前，在线视频网站迅雷表示，在2月底推出正版视频内容点播收费服务，同时不再允许用户上传内容。

       迅雷首席运营官罗为民介绍，迅雷推出的高清在线视频服务——“红宝石影院”将提供版权清晰的收费高清影视内容。“红宝石影院”内容收费大约1-2元/片；如果是包月用户，费用将降到几毛钱/片。

       “现在的点播会继续免费，与收费电影在清晰度、速度方面会有所差异，”罗为民介绍。

       同时，国内另一个知名视频网站酷6网也表示，将推行向用户收费的模式，作为酷6广告模式的补充

       酷6网首席执行官李善友透露，酷6网未来将分为高清视频和网友视频分享两个网站，而热播的高清电影不排除向用户收费。

       国内最大的视频网站土豆亦宣称，在今年晚些时候启动部分视频收费计划，并希望收费视频在未来能占据一个合理比例。

       根据中国互联网信息中心最新的报告，截至2009年底，网络视频用户规模达到2.4亿，较2008年底增长3844万，占所有网民总数的三分之二。如此庞大的用户群，假如收费模式得到普及，视频网站的收入将大大提升。

       然而，在国内某门户网站所做的随机调查结果显示，愿意为视频点播付费的网友只有383名，而不愿意的则达到6095名。

       如今大呼“免费+收费”模式口号的是迅雷、酷6、土豆等民营视频网站，而新浪、搜狐、网易等大型门户网站的视频频道，还有去年底刚上马的中国网络电视台，里面的内容都是免费，其中不乏热播的高清电影和电视剧。

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)