Our latest CIC watch for January 1-15 (2007) has been released. This is a report for clients, but we have excerpted one article below. A sample of a full report can be found here.

Convergence of worlds old and new – online video sharing services
聚合新旧媒体-快速发展的网络视频分享服务

Internet users spend twice as much online as they do on watching television, and thanks to the video sharing service, Chinese netizens can now watch Movies Trailers, TV series, Music Video. The service of video sharing site is virtually “on-demand”.

Meanwhile, more and more companies (including traditional media like TV) have recognized the value of these sites. For example, Google spent US $1.65 billion to acquire Youtube, the most famous international video sharing site in year 2006.

Video sharing sites used to be the place where people can share their home made videos, especially those made with web cams. But now, there is more and more “republished” content, but “official” and “unofficial,” which is bringing the TV to an audience not watching the tube. You may not be able to see yourself on CCTV soon, but you may soon see CCTV on your computer.

For more on how the net generation consumers video and why TIVO will never work in China, see our CEO Sam Flemming’s post from December 2005 here.