Bilibili teams up with Alibaba to help content creators monetize work

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has bought an 8 percent stake in Shanghai-headquartered video platform Bilibili Inc to seek monetization and growth synergies for online merchants and video content producers.

The partnership came after an announcement in December last year between the two parties involving e-commerce and entertainment collaborations.

Content creators on Bilibili will be able to register and operate a number of accounts on Taobao, and promote merchandise by producing content in a creative and interactive format.

Alibaba said its e-commerce retail arm Taobao will hold 24 million shares in Bilibili, which targets the younger generation with entertainment formats such as online video sharing, animation, cartoons and gaming.

"Through Taobao's massive user base, more people would come to realize the creativeness of Bilibili's vloggers and content creators," commented Bilibili's Chairman and CEO Chen Rui.

Taobao is also offering tailor-made monetization plans for content producers on Bilibili to help them find potential buyers for derivatives and merchandise. Alibaba has been trying to appeal to a younger generation who embraces a variety of online entertainment formats instead of just searching for products through online shopping sites.  

Bilibili had a monthly active user base of 92.7 million by the end of September last year, and also intends to connect with online shopping sites to deepen its business potential and to extend revenue streams.

Tencent is also a minority shareholder in Bilibili with about a 12 percent stake, and it aims to collaborate in areas such as animation and online gaming.  

NASDAQ-listed Bilibili closed up 4 percent on Thursday.