NBC and Yahoo are still arguing which one got the largest number of online users during the Olympic Games. Well, the real winner is neither of them, but local Chinese online video sites.

DCCI (Data Centre of China Internet) estimates in a recent study that a staggering 244 million viewers, about 95.1% of China’s netizens, watched the Olympics online on one of the the nine authorized sites, such as PPS.TV, PPLive, Sohu, ku6 and UUSee.

netizens who are also Olympic fans were able to not only enjoy a high-quality video experience but also had the opportunity to watch the Beijing 2008 Olympics through their PCs anywhere and anytime.

The highest increase in online viewers occurred among the young and high-income users. With a brand loyalty of 82%, the competition for acquiring new and keeping existing online users is fierce. The main strategy is to try to take the lead and to legitimize online video and TV. This requires investment in quality offerings and for copyrights. New and fresh content is used to attract users, but also advertisers to ensure revenue streams.

The online TV sites purchase content from the CCTV channels, including the CCTV Olympics Channel.
They also offer programs on demand, which is highly attractive for advertisers for product placement.

Nike, LG, Pepsi, China Mobile, Budweiser and Merchant Bank are just a few companies that advertise their brands.

If we look at online entertainment, we see that close to 70% of the online users listen to online music, half of all online users play online games and more than 60% of all online users watch movies and TV series online (Source: Internet World Statistics). Needless to say, it provides lots of opportunities for online TV offerings.

If we look at the development of China’s online video industry, Bill Gates’ prophecy that online videos could overtake regular TV leadership in as little as five years might come true.