After years of criticizing the US for its cultural hegemony, China seems to be finally realizing that it can use Hollywood’s clout to its advantage as we’re seeing in a couple of newly announced deals that could also mean good news for Hollywood executives who have been trying to figure out for years how to make money in China. In the more significant of the two deals, video sharing site Youku (NYSE: YOKU) has announced a tie-up with Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) that will see it offer 
up to 450 Warner movie titles to subscribers to Youku’s premium service. (company announcement) This deal is clearly part of the broader drive by Youku and other video sharing sites like those operated by Tudou, Xunlei and Tencent (HKEx: 700) to offer legitimate programs and movies as Beijing tries to wean them off the pirated material they have offered up until now. This migration is similar to what happened in the US about a decade ago, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see lots of similar deals between other video sharing sites and content producers in the future. (previous post) Separately, TCL (Shenzhen: 000100; HKEx: 1070) has announced a smaller but equally interesting deal that will see it promote its TVs globally with Paramount Pictures (NYSE: VIAb) in connection with the release of the studio’s latest “Transformers” film. (company announcement) This move looks like a smart one to me, as young consumers who will flock to see this film are the same kind of customers that might consider TCL’s less-pricey but still good quality LCD televisions. As I’ve said before, I think that TCL is executing well in the last year after its previous slip-ups, and this marketing tie-up looks like just the kind of approach it should be taking to build itself into China’s first truly global electronics brand.
Bottom line: New Hollywood tie-ups by Youku and TCL look like smart moves for both companies, who are realizing the marketing potential of tie-ups with big-name films.
多少年来中国一直批评美国文化霸权，但随着近日几项新合同的签署，似乎它已终於意识到也可以将好莱坞的影响力为我所用。新合同对好莱坞高管也是好事，因为多年来他们一直在探索如何赚中国市场的钱。其中比较重要的一个合同是：优酷<YOKU.N>宣布与华纳兄弟<TWX.N>合作，由优酷通过视频付费点播服务提供450部华纳影片。该项合作显然属於优酷、土豆、迅雷与腾讯<0700.HK>等视频分享网站努力按照政府指示、多多提供正版节目的举措之一。这一动向大约与美国十年前的情况类似，所以未来如听到更多视频分享网站与内容产出方合作的消息，我不会感到意外。另外，TCL集团<000100.SZ> <1070.HK>也与派拉蒙影业<VIAb.N>展开合作，协议规模虽然相对小一些，但同样有意思。根据合约，TCL将成为派拉蒙新片《变形金刚3》的国际推广电视品牌。我认为此举非常聪明，因为该片观众与TCL平价高质LCD彩电的目标客户为同一群体。正如我以前所说，TCL 经过先前的失误後，过去一年中经营得很不错，而此次市场结盟看来正是TCL打造中国第一家真正全球性电子品牌所需要的策略。
一句话：优酷、TCL与好莱坞结盟看来都属明智之举，他们意识到了与知名制片公司结盟的市场潜力。
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ TV Programers Dial Up Success on Internet 电视电影制片商迎来网络商机
◙ Youku’s Luxurious Dream 优酷网的奢侈品梦想
◙ TCL Comeback Gains Momentum with Italy Deals TCL牵手意大利 复苏之势获动力
There’s been a flurry of reports in the Chinese media recently about Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) plans to roll out a mobile operating system later this year, with some saying the OS will make its debut very soon (
China’s drive to consolidate its cable industry is designed in part to spur development of state-of-the-art digital delivery networks that will someday offer Chinese consumers the wide variety of programming and other services now available through fast-developing on-demand networks in the West. But that digital dream is still very much just a distant wish, at least based on the latest transaction to make the local headlines. Chinese media are reporting that Shanghai Automotive has put its 19 percent stake in SiTV, the digital TV operator under Shanghai Media Group, China’s second largest media conglomerate, up for sale for a mere 25 million yuan, or just $3.7 million. (
As Beijing glows over the naming of US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as the first ethnic Chinese to become US ambassador to China, the nation’s struggling solar panel sector is more focused on Locke’s replacement, longtime California power industry executive John Bryson. President Obama reportedly hand-picked Bryson, chief executive of one of California’s top two power producers, in large part for his rich background in building and operating alternate energy generating facilities, even as much of the rest of the nation shies away from such plants despite attractive government incentives. Chinese media are saying that Bryson, with his strong ties to the power generating community, has been given a mandate to breathe new life into green energy production in the US, which, if successful, could mean a nice boost for China’s solar panel makers who are now struggling with one of their worst-ever downturns as building of new solar plants worldwide slows with the fading of the global economic crisis. (
g twist media reported in April that Samsung would take a 15 percent stake in domestic TV leader TCL’s (Shenzhen: 000001) 8.5-generation LCD plant in Shenzhen. AU’s tie-up with Kunshan Longfei — under which AU will take over management of the company — should help the Taiwanese company quickly regain any lost ground on LG Display and Samsung, which have to build up their production facilities from zero. The irony in all this is that LCD sales will probably start to slow in the next few years as more and more homes already have big-screen TVs, just as all the new Chinese production is hitting the market. That will make the race even more interesting, as whoever gets to market first will probably beat the glut, at least initially.
services space is already dominated by well-established players Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and eLong (Nasdaq: LONG), as well as a number of smaller players with backing from big state-run travel firms. A quick view of the site is also quite underwhelming, as it doesn’t appear to offer anything that the others don’t already have and, accordingly, I wouldn’t expect to see too much return from this investment. Two other tie-ups that have made recent headlines will see Baiidu forming a strategic partnership with leading real estate service firm China Real Estate Investment Corp (Nasdaq: CRIC) (
There are a couple of interesting items in the media these last few days regarding cars, as automakers look desperately for any good news to jump-start sales that have slowed dramatically as Beijing looks to cool the economy and also ease traffic congestion. In the end, most of the hopes are destined for disappointment, as clearly economic cooling and making big city roads passable are clearly more important for China’s long-term welfare and thus will receive priority. But let’s get to the news. Perhaps most important were media reports late last week saying Beijing, under pressure from automakers alarmed by slowing sales, was considering putting the brakes on a national program to ease congestion by limiting the number of new license plates issued in major cities. (
I’ve probably written perhaps a bit too much about Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) ongoing clash with China over its mapping service, but in this instance I think the case merits the extra attention because 1) this is Google and China we’re talking about, and 2) the case has much broader implications for China’s future approach towards the Internet, which appears to be growing more flexible. Chinese media are reporting that a Google joint venture that would include its China mapping business has officially received government approval, paving the way for the venture to be licensed and for Google to keep operating the service under new rules that require such licensing. (
Chinese TV program and movie makers, who often struggle just to survive due to rampant piracy and monopoly market conditions that constrain their ability to sell products, may be on the cusp of a golden age thanks to a new benefactor: the Internet. Chinese media are reporting that programming makers speaking at Shanghai’s annual film festival said the market has suddenly exploded for their product from a growing crop of content-hungry video sharing sites such as Youku (NYSE: YOKU), Tudou, Xunlei and Tencent (HKEx: 700). (
