(Yicai Global) May 10 -- US entertainment service provider Netflix has purchased exclusive distribution rights to Chinese web series I Hear You from Youku, a video site owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding.

Netflix will stream the 24-episode romantic comedy to its over 148 million subscribers in 190 countries and regions worldwide starting May 15, Yicai Global learned from Alibaba today. The Hangzhou-based company offered no further details of the deal, however.

Based on a popular online novel written by Shi Xiaozha, the show has attracted over 20 million views online, public information shows.

This is not the first time the streaming giant has inked a licensing deal with a Chinese online video hub. It bought the rights in 2017 to Youku's detective thriller Day and Night, which made quite a splash in China in its first four months on the site.

"More than 50 original productions have been distributed overseas in the past two years, as we see growing interest from international distributors," said Brandy Zhang, chief editor of Youku's online series division.

The number of paid subscribers on China's online video platforms reached more than 230 million users last year, up from 22 million in 2015, per a February report by Chinese film sector tracker EntgroupA, which said it expects the number to climb to 300 million by the end of this year.

Editor: Ben Armour