Newsflare, an online video marketplace that connects the media with video shot by the public, is to launch in China. China has over 650 million smartphone users with its own social networks and a Chinese operation will allow the London-based video platform to access the world’s biggest source of newsworthy video content.
Five of the global top 20 sites are Chinese language and, echoing trends on Facebook and Twitter, the amount of video on these platforms is growing at a rapid rate. Networks like Tencent, Weibo and YouKu have between 600 and 850 million users each with networks like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter being blocked in the People’s Republic.
Chinese video is already featuring strongly from the Newsflare community, according to the company. Eyewitness footage of the Tianjin chemical explosions in August and drone footage of a gridlocked Beijing motorway have been amongst the most viewed Newsflare videos this year.
“Everyday people in China shoot an incredible amount of engaging video most of which would not reach western audiences without the service that Newsflare provides,” said Jon Cornwell (pictured), CEO of Newsflare. “We are very excited to offer unique Chinese video content to our online, broadcast and production clients around the world, adding to the variety of engaging video that we already provide them with.
“As ‘citizen video coverage’ of events becomes increasingly important to news and entertainment audiences around the world, establishing a Chinese operation was a natural next step in our global expansion.”
Newsflare’s operation in China is headed up by a Chinese journalist who worked with the UK team at the company’s global headquarters in Shoreditch before returning to live in China.
Newsflare has a community of video contributors and supplies video to over 230 news organisations, production companies and TV shows worldwide, including AOL, MTV, BBC, Sky News, MSN, CNN, NBC, Yahoo!, The Telegraph, MailOnline, The Sun, Discovery and National Geographic.
