Youku Tudou appoints new COO, creates TV production unit

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese online video firm Youku Tudou Inc named Edward Su as its Chief Operating Officer, and it also created a TV drama production unit. Su, formerly of Havas Worldwide, a subsidiary of French advertising holding company Havas SA, will oversee Youku Tudou's sales team, the company said. Youku Tudou is backed by e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding and smartphone upstart Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL]. Along with domestic rivals Tencent Holdings Ltd, Sohu.com Inc and iQiyi, controlled by Baidu Inc, Youku Tudou is investing in original content such as films. These companies say the move into media production can draw in more viewers with unique content. It also provides a way to cheaply obtain more Chinese entertainment, so as to get around restrictions limiting the ratio of foreign to domestic TV and film online streaming sites can publish. (Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Anand Basu)