The deal comes just weeks after MySpace was involved in a deal with rival video site Tudou.com to broadcast Olympics coverage. That now appears dead after Tudou reportedly fell foul of the authorities. On Friday afternoon, Tudou's site was inaccessible, with a notice saying it had been shut down for 24 hours while the company moved its servers.
The Youku deal will see MySpace China offering user-generated video content. The sites will operate a joint video channel and MySpace users will be able to upload videos direct from the social network. According to Victor Koo, CEO of Youku.com, the aim is to boost traffic on both sites to aid ad sales.
At the end of February, MySpace and Tudou reportedly tied with Chinese television channel CCTV to provide online Olympics coverage. CCTV won the online rights to the games last year.
However, since that deal, Tudou's future has been thrown into doubt. Sources in China say that Tudou has been dropped by CCTV after China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft) threatened to shut the site down for broadcasting prohibited content.?
Tudou would not comment on the story, though sources close to the site did not expect the matter to be resolved for another few weeks. Online video insiders say that if Tudou does come back online, it will probably have to place major restrictions on what users can upload.
Koo said the Youku-MySpace tie-up was not specifically related to the Olympics, though Youku will power any online video content deals MySpace has signed.
CCTV, meanwhile, has posted a statement claiming that it is the sole holder of the rights and "has not made any partnership or joint venture with other internet companies to operate any so-called ‘Olympics website', and have not made any delegation agreement with any new media company in broadcasting the Olympics Games."
