China’s Youku snaps up BBC dramas as appetite for foreign shows like Sherlock, Yes Minister remains strong

Chinese video streaming site Youku signed a deal for more than 80 hours of British content on Tuesday, seeking to become the “number one platform for British drama” amid strong demand for foreign content.

The deal with BBC Studios extends Youku’s licensing of all four seasons of Sherlock and the full catalogue of Doctor Who, including the latest season which is currently airing. It also includes new content for its library that will be available on the platform this month, including Good Omens, Sanditon and Luther, as well as high-definition versions of classic 80s comedies Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.

The content will mostly be exclusive to paid subscribers, Youku said in a written response to the Post.

Foreign content on streaming platforms is capped at 30 per cent by law, but this has not stopped sites from snapping up TV shows produced overseas which have proved popular among local audiences. On Douban, the largest crowdsourced film review platform in China, eight out of the 10 highest rated TV series streaming online are foreign shows from the UK, US and South Korea.

The third season of Yes Minister – known to be former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s favourite show when she was in power – is currently the highest rated British TV series on Douban, with nearly 12,000 Chinese viewers rating it an average of 9.8 out of 10. Among US TV shows, the 10th season of sitcom Friends was rated the highest, also achieving an average rating of 9.8 by almost 79,000 users.

Youku has been snapping up British dramas since 2013, when it brought in Sherlock and Downton Abbey, differentiating itself from major rivals iQiyi and Tencent Video. iQiyi is popular for its Korean dramas, self-produced series and reality shows, while Tencent Video is an HBO partner and the local go-to platform for American shows such as Game of Thrones and The Wire.