On Tuesday, Alibaba’s Mobile Internet BG officially introduced its UC subscription service, which will work like a Tmall for media producers to sell their content instead of physical products.
“UC subscription will help the role of media to transition from merely providing information to offering information as a service,” said Yu Yongfu, the president of Alibaba Mobile Internet. “With the new service, we envision a fresh ecosystem for media and user generated media.”
Yu believes that Alibaba’s success in e-commerce lies in the fact that it is not only an online shopping mall, but also a platform where sellers run their own shops.
“Similarly, when media makers have ‘shops’ of their own selling content, the entire system will become more sustainable,” he said.
He explained that UC subscription will allow content providers to build their own brand with accumulated content.
UCWeb, China’s leading mobile browser, merged with Alibaba’s business unit UC Mobile in 2014. Since late April, it has been transforming into a media platform. So far, UCWeb has attracted 500 million users around the globe with over 100 million daily active users.
Yu said that, as mobile internet develops with great momentum, the scenario of “people searching for information” will become “information looking for people”. He says the blueprint for UC subscription will accelerate this process.
Furthermore, UCWeb is promoting related media products. Last August, they launched web-based UC Toutiao, or “UC Headline”, which features customized services with 570 million daily page views, according to the head of UCWeb.
UC subscription, backed by Alibaba’s Mobile Internet Business Group and Alibaba Group, will sell ads and offer paid services. The service will be online in two weeks.
(Top photo screened from Baidu Images)