Tag Archives: PPTV

SPORTS: China Soccer Binge Rolls on in Milan, Backlash Coming?

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Bottom line: European alarmism could soon start to grow over a sudden Chinese buying spree of local soccer clubs, including the latest purchase of Inter Milan by Suning and a looming purchase of AC Milan by a Chinese buyer.

Suning bounces into Milan

The new week is kicking off with a couple of China soccer deals in Europe, led by the purchase of a majority of Italy’s Inter Milan by consumer giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), and buzz that another deal is near that would see crosstown rival AC Milan sold to a Chinese buyer. This kind of news is becoming quite common these days, following other recent deals that have seen Chinese companies buy or purchase stakes in soccer clubs and other sporting assets in Spain, Britain, Switzerland and even New York. All of which raises the question of if and when Europeans might start to feel uneasy about this sudden buying binge of so many assets from their favorite past-time. Read Full Post…

VIDEO: PPTV’s Cryptic Farewell, Xunlei Swings to Loss

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UPDATE: Since issuing its original microblog post, PPTV has issued new posts on its account that appear to indicate it won’t be closing. To view the latest posts, please click here.

Bottom line: PPTV looks set to become the first major victim of China’s online video wars after its microblog publication of a farewell message, while the money-losing Xunlei could become the second casualty.

PPTV bidding farewell?

Two of China’s major online video companies with mid-sized backers are in the headlines today, with ominous signals coming from PPTV and Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) that reflect the intense competition they face. The most intriguing headline has PPTV, which is owned by electronics retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), announcing on its official microblog that it is closing, even as its actual website remains active.

The other headline has Xunlei, which is backed by smartphone maker Xiaomi, announcing its latest quarterly results that showed it swung to a loss as it battles with much larger rivals for an audience. We can probably also assume that PPTV was losing big money, and in fact just about everyone in China’s online video space is now in the red. Typical of the group is Youku Tudou, the industry leader whose net loss doubled to $70 million in last year’s third quarter before it was bought by e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). Read Full Post…

China News Digest: May 12, 2016

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The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on May 12. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • PPTV Posts Farewell Microblog Message, Website Remains Active (Chinese article)
  • Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) Reports Q1 Results, Raises Annual Revenue Guidance (PRNewswire)
  • Wanda Group Reconsiders De-Listing Property Unit: Sources (English article)
  • LeEco (Shenzhen: 300104) Joins Forces with Twitter for Global Brand Expansion (Businesswire)
  • Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), Gree (Shenzhen: 000651) Launch Smart Air Conditioner (Chinese article)
  • Latest calendar for Q1 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

ENTERTAINMENT: Sina Scores in Soccer, LeTV in Baseball

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Bottom line: Sina’s new deal to broadcast the video channel of the Manchester United soccer team looks like a good bet, while LeTV’s new deal to broadcast US baseball games is more likely to strike out.

Sina tries soccer with Man United

Leading web portal Sina (Nasdsaq: SINA) and online video giant LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) have just announced 2 new sporting deals, extending a recent streak of similar investments by media companies in search of exclusive content. The first deal will see Sina become the official broadcaster in China for Britain’s Manchester United soccer club, while the second will see LeTV’s sports division get similar rights for live broadcasts of US Major League Baseball (MLB).

Both moves are really just licensing deals, though each could become an important new revenue source for Sina and LeTV as they search for exclusive content to lure viewers to their services. From a quantity perspective, LeTV is the big winner in this new round of deals since it will gain rights to hundreds of baseball games played in America each year. But Sina is the winner from a quality perspective, since soccer is far more popular in China than baseball, which is relatively unknown among average Chinese. Read Full Post…

ENTERTAINMENT: Suning Joins Sports Club with Soccer Buy

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Bottom line: Suning’s move into sports is aimed at providing content for its PPTV online video service, but is also the latest in a string of wide-ranging investments that reflect a company with an identity crisis.

Suning invests in soccer

Sports teams are becoming flavor of the day for Chinese firms with entertainment aspirations, with word that retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) has joined the bandwagon via a new investment in a local soccer club. The company’s latest deal will see it invest 523 million yuan ($80 million) in the Jiangsu Sainty Football Club, which like many other professional Chinese sports teams is struggling financially.

Suning’s interest in soccer is probably related to its 2013 purchase of PPTV, a relatively large player in China’s crowded online video space. The Suning-PPTV tie-up left many people puzzled at thee time of that announcement, since the 2 companies have little in common. But Suning has been aggressively promoting the service in its trademark consumer electronics stores, and in August it announced a plan to invest 1 billion yuan into a campaign to sell smart TVs equipped with PPTV’s online video service. Read Full Post…

ENTERTAINMENT: Suning Soups Up PPTV with 1 Bln Yuan Investment

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Bottom line: Suning’s plan to invest 1 billion yuan into PPTV’s smart TV foray is coming a bit late, but could stand a good chance of success by drawing on Suning’s position as one of China’s top TV retailers.

PPTV, Suning in smart TV partnership

Many of us were a bit surprised 2 years ago when electronics retailer Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) emerged as one of the winning bidders for PPTV, which was one of China’s leading online video sites at the time. The pair didn’t really seem like a great match, since Suning’s main business was its traditional retail stores that originally specialized in home electronics but later added more general merchandise. Suning’s newer e-commerce business didn’t seem like a great fit either, since retailing and online video entertainment don’t have too much in common.

Fast forward to the present, when Suning has finally developed a strategy for the asset with plans to pump 1 billion yuan ($160 million) into PPTV as part of PPTV’s own new drive into Internet TVs. This particular combination actually seems intriguing, since Suning is in a good position to promote such Internet TVs due to its position as one of China’s biggest home electronics retailers. Read Full Post…

News Digest: August 1-3, 2015

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 1-3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Hisense (Shanghai: 600060) Pays $23.7 Mln for Sharp Corp Mexico Operations (Chinese article)
  • Renren (NYSE: RENN) Acting CFO Resigns, Interim CFO Appointed (PRNewswire)
  • Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Puts 1 Bln Yuan into PPTV, Challenges LeTV, Xiaomi (Chinese article)
  • Tencent, Evergrande Invest in Internet Community Service Site Mascotte (HK: 136) (Chinese article)
  • Ajisen Ramen in $60 Mln Ride on Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Take-Out Dining Service (Chinese article)
  • Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

PPTV Carve-Up Continues As Crackdown Bites

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PPTV yanks set-top box

Worrisome signs of a crackdown are growing in the online video sector, where a field of young private firms rolling out a new generation of TV-like products are facing strong resistance from traditional television stations. The latest signs of turmoil are coming from PPTV, a former industry leader that is slowly getting carved up among investors as it is forced to scrap some of its most promising new products. The former high-flyer is showing up in 2 separate headlines today, including one that has seen it shelve its TV set-top box product. The other headline has the company selling 10 percent of itself to Phoenix Publishing & Media (Shanghai: 601928), marking its third major stake sale in the last year as it slowly gets carved up among a group of diverse investors. Read Full Post…

News Digest: September 2, 2014

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • VNOs Enter Silent Period, Sign-Ups Total Just 300,000 After 3 Months (Chinese article)
  • SAIC Seeks Written Explanation In Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Probe Within 20 Days (Chinese article)
  • Huawei, Alipay Introduce First Domestic Fingerprint Payment Standard (Chinese article)
  • Phoenix Publishing & Media (Shanghai: 601928) To Acquire 10 Pct Of PPTV (English article)
  • China’s Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) Stumbles From Gold Medal Spot To No Man’s Land (English article)

News Digest: November 2-4

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 2-4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) Doubles In Debut As Chinese Stocks Make US Comeback (English article)
  • Lenovo (HKEx: 992) To Enter US Handset Market (English article)
  • China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939) Buys 76 Pct Of BicBanko For $720 Mln (HKEx announcement)
  • PPTV Won’t Enter Smart TV After Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Investment – CEO (Chinese article)
  • Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) In 100MW Supply Deal With 3 Gorges New Energy (PRNewswire)
  • Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

PPTV Finally Finds Buyer In Suning

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PPTV links up with Suning, Hony

After shopping around for an investor for much of this year, money-losing video sharing site PPTV has finally found a new patron in retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024). I’m quite happy to see this latest development in China’s rapidly consolidating online video space, as it means I can finally stop writing about all the latest rumors that have popped up for the last 6 months surrounding PPTV. Rumors of this particular tie-up first emerged about a month ago (previous post), and I’ll admit that this deal doesn’t look particularly attractive to me. Read Full Post…