Tag Archives: Shanghai Media Group

CCTV’s Latest Web Tie-Up: Who Cares? 奇虎联手央视料难成功

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Web software firm Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU), which has recently come under a short seller attack for allegedly inflating its user figures, is trumpeting a new tie-up with the online unit of CCTV, China’s leading TV broadcaster, to jointly create an online video platform — a development that looks great in the headlines but one that leads me to ask a simple question: Who cares? (English article) I’ve previously stated my belief that Qihoo is a company prone to exaggeration, and in all fairness I can’t really blame Qihoo for wanting to hype this latest development, as obviously CCTV is a big name in video content. In fact, my skepticism would be better directed at CCTV, which is trying hard to become more commercial along with other big state-run media giants like Xinhua and People’s Daily, which are both in the process of doing IPOs for their websites in an effort to earn money and become more self sufficient. (previous post) Put quite simply, CCTV and Xinhua have launched a seemingly nonstop stream of similar tie-ups in the last few years with names like China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Bloomberg, none of which seems to be particularly successful. The reason for the muted success, and one reason I’d caution investors against getting too excited, is relatively simple: the average Chinese still sees CCTV, Xinhua and People’s Daily largely as propaganda tools of the communist party, and aren’t all that interested in spending their web surfing and mobile browsing time reading or viewing more of their material. What’s more, these mammoth state-run media giants, no matter how hard they try, simply lack the instincts to be true commercial companies as their first priority will always be to propaganda officials and everything else will come second. Qihoo shareholders seem to have liked the news, bidding up the company’s shares 8 percent in Tuesday trading on Wall Street. But I’d caution any excited buyers not to hold out too much hope for this new CCTV tie-up, despite the broadcaster’s big name, and would likewise give a similar warning to any other company that does future similar deals with CCTV or Xinhua. On the other hand, I wouldn’t extend my skepticism to all media companies, and in fact do believe that certain aggressive regional players like Shanghai Media Group and Hunan Broadcasting might make much more interesting media partners.

Bottom line: A new tie-up between Qihoo 360 and CCTV will produce lackluster results, as will similar partnerships involving CCTV, Xinhua and other media outlets with strong central government ties.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ 360Buy Heats Up E-Books, People’s Daily Goes to Market 京东商城高调进军电子书,人民网开启上市进程

◙ Xinhuanet IPO Sets Stage For Media Listings 新华网IPO或将开启媒体上市热潮

◙ PPLive, Phoenix Video Initiatives Offer News Alternative 凤凰新媒体与PPLive的新尝试

360Buy Heats Up E-Books, People’s Daily Goes to Market 京东商城高调进军电子书,人民网开启上市进程

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E-commerce leaders 360Buy and Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) seem to be locked together in a dangerous dance that has seen them launch one price war after another in their attempts to steal business from each other. Just weeks after Dangdang, which rose to prominence as an online book seller, finally discovered e-books (previous post), 360Buy, which also goes by the name of Jingdong Mall, has launched its own very high profile move into e-books as well, in what’s likely to turn into yet the latest bloody price war between these two companies. (English article; Chinese article) 360Buy has released lots of details about this latest high-profile initiative, saying its online bookstore will launch next month and will include more than 80,000 titles from 200 suppliers. Look for lots of bargains when this new online bookstore comes online, which no doubt will be met with equal bargains from Dangdang, pushing both companies deeper into the red. This latest looming price war, which looks to be quite big, is an appropriate start to 2012, when we can expect to see a major cleanup of China’s unruly e-commerce and group buying spaces where competition has become rampant and many companies are now losing big money. Many companies are likely to close in the cleanup, though I would expect both Dangdang and 360Buy to survive, as the latter chases an IPO to raise $1 billion or more in the US. Speaking of IPOs, domestic media are reporting that People’s Net, the online site of the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, has started a process to raise around 527 million yuan, or $82 million, through a domestic IPO. (Chinese article) That news comes just 2 weeks after similar reports emerged that another major state-run media, Xinhua, was also planning a $150 million IPO for its website, Xinhuanet. (previous post) IPOs by these 2 big hallmarks of state-run media are a clear signal that China is finally loosening its grip on the sensitive media sector, and we should expect to see a steady stream of major media firms listing some of their assets in the year ahead, including some potentially interesting offerings from other major players like Shanghai Media Group and Southern Media Group.

Bottom line: 2012 is starting with a dramatic new price war between Dangdang and 360Buy in e-books, while an IPO by People’s Daily’s website augers a new wave of media listings.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Price Wars Beat Up Online Retailers 网上零售商引爆价格战

◙ Dangdang Discovers E-Books — Finally 当当推电子书仍有成功希望

◙ Xinhuanet IPO Sets Stage For Media Listings 新华网IPO或将开启媒体上市热潮

Lenovo Starts Year With New Europe Chief, TV Tie-Up 联想新年新气象：聘用新高管并推互联网电视

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Lenovo (HKEx: 992), the Chinese PC maker that wants to do a lot more than sell computers, is starting off the new year with a couple of positive developments, hiring a sharp new executive to head its important European operations and also launching an interesting new web TV initiative. In the former move, the company has formally hired Gianfranco Lanci, formerly CEO of Taiwan’s Acer (Taipei: 2353) to head its Europe operations under a new reorganization of its global regions. (Chinese article) In fact, this development isn’t huge, as Lenovo actually hired Lanci as a consultant last September (previous post), so clearly they have been happy with his performance since then. I’m a fan of Lanci, who was a major force behind Acer’s rise a few years ago by correctly predicting the importance of mobile computing and stressing development of laptop computers. Of course, Acer has fallen on harder times since then due to lack of focus and innovation, and Lanci left the company last year as a result of differing opinions with other top managers. It’s unclear if Lanci can do the same for Lenovo as he did for Acer, but Lenovo clearly does need some strong leadership in Europe, following its purchase of German PC maker Medion last year and as it tries to boost its presence in developed markets in Europe and North America. (previous post) Meantime, the company has also formed a tie-up with BesTV, the digital TV arm of Shanghai Media Group (SMG), China’s second biggest media group and the main TV operator in the lucrative Shanghai market. Under the tie-up Lenovo is providing set-top boxes that will allow BesTV viewers to surf the web on their televisions. (Chinese article) Like Acer, Lenovo sometimes seems to lack focus in the current digital world, often chasing the latest popular product like smartphones or gaming consoles rather than trying to innovate with its own new bets on hot new product areas. So in that light, this Internet TV initiative certainly seems refreshing as the kind of move one would expect from a leader rather than a follower. I also like the choice of SMG as its partner, as SMG is clearly one of China’s top media groups and could potentially become a leader in China’s nascent digital TV market. All that said, these 2 new moves by Lenovo, with a smart new European head and interesting Internet TV initiative, auger a promising start for 2012.

Bottom line: Lenovo’s hiring of an experienced European head and  a new Internet TV tie-up both look like promising developments as it heads into the new year.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Lenovo Considers Japan Production 联想向日本转移制造业务为明智公关手段

◙ Liu Steps Down at Lenovo — Again 柳传志再度卸任联想董事会主席

◙ Lenovo Parent Goes Down to the Farm 联想控股“务农” 瓶装水里淘金

Xinhuanet IPO Sets Stage For Media Listings 新华网IPO或将开启媒体上市热潮

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There’s an interesting report in the media space that the Xinhua News Agency plans to publicly list its news web site — a development with hugely symbolic overtones that could foreshadow a long-awaited liberalization in this highly sensitive sector and portend a major new round of IPOs for big media firms. Foreign media are citing unnamed sources saying that Xinhua is planning a domestic listing for its news portal, Xinhuanet, in a deal that would see it raise around 1 billion yuan, or more than $150 million. (English article) The size of the offering is really of little or no significance since Xinhua, as the Communist Party’s main mouthpiece, already receives most of its funding from the government and is unlikely to need such funds. What’s much more important is that Xinhua is making this IPO at all, as ownership of the media, which has the power to influence public opinion, has been a highly sensitive matter in the past, even as most other sectors were allowed to make public offerings paving the way for private ownership. This move by Xinhua, if it really happens, would send an important signal to China’s other major media groups, including CCTV, Shanghai Media Group and other major players, that it’s ok for them to list some of their major assets, paving the way for an interesting new round of possibilities for investors with huge growth potential. Such a development would, in fact, extend a recent trend that has seen a growing number of movie and TV show makers, many of them owned by regional media companies, make a string of low-key public offerings as they hope to tap emerging demand from not only traditional TV stations, but also an fast-rising group of content-hungry video sharing websites like Youku (NYSE: YOKU), Tudou (Nasdaq: TUDO), Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) and PPLive. (previous post) Xinhua, as one of China’s oldest media, already sets the tone for the rest of the nation’s TV stations, newspapers and websites in terms of news coverage, and this latest move would indicate that public ownership of the media is ok, at least on domestic stock markets. The timing of a Xinhuanet listing is still unclear, meaning it could still be months or years away. But if and when such a listing occurs, look for many more to follow as a wide range of regional and local media groups clamor to raise funds to expand their national reach.

Bottom line: A pendiing IPO for Xinhua’s web portal could auger a flood of new domestic listings for big Chinese media firms, providing an interesting investment option with strong growth potential.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Jishi the Latest in Low-Key Media Listing Parade 吉视传媒加入中国媒体低调上市大军

◙ 2011: A Breakthrough Year in Copyright Protection 2011年：中国版权保护取得突破的一年

◙ Video Makers On Cusp of Renaissance 视频制作商或迎来美好时代