TV Programers Dial Up Success on Internet 电视电影制片商迎来网络商机

By newsdoug on June 24, 2011

It's showtime for Chinese TV, movie makers 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). (English article) According to the reports, single episodes of the most popular TV shows can now fetch as much as 600,000 yuan apiece — a nice sum and certainly welcome news for program makers like Huayi Brothers (Shenzhen: 300027), which often have difficulty finding cash just to finance their next venture. The development seems to already be sparking some activity in the program-making arena, with Tencent buying a 4.6 percent stake in Huayi earlier this year (previous post), and Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) Qiyi video joint venture announcing just this week its production arm would produce four variety shows and one movie this year. (English article) The trend could help to fuel the rise of a new wave of independent production houses, and should also come as good news for global media giants like News Corp (Nasdaq: NWSA) and Disney (NYSE: DIS), as well as Hong Kong leader Television Broadcasts (HKEx: 511), which have been trying to figure out for years how to make money in China. Of course, the coming renaissance could also run out of steam if the online video sector consolidates, which seems inevitable. But for now, it’s certainly showtime for China’s long under-appreciated TV and movie makers.

Bottom line: TV program and movie makers in China are poised to see business boom on growing demand from online video sites.

由於中国盗版猖獗和市场垄断，国内的电视和电影制片商销售能力受限，往往仅为生存挣扎。但由於视频网站的崛起，这些制片商或即将迎来黄金时期。据中国媒体报导，制片商在上海国际电影节上表示，优酷<YOKU.N>、土豆、迅雷和腾讯<0700.HK>等视频分享网站对内容的需求呈爆发性增长。报导称，对於最受欢迎的电视剧，目前单集售价已高达60万元，如此可观的收入自然令华谊兄弟<300027.SZ>等制片商喜出望外，因为他们经常为投资下部作品的资金来源发愁。这一变化似乎已经引发制片领域的一些商业动作，如腾讯今年早些时候购买了华谊4.6%的股权，百度<BIDU.O>旗下的奇艺视频合资企业本周宣布，其制片团队今年将推出四档综艺节目和一部电影。这还将催生一批独立制片工作室，对新闻集团<NWSA.O> 、迪士尼<DIS.N>等全球媒体巨头和香港电视广播有限公司<0511.HK>来说也不失为好消息，因这些公司多年来一直在探索如何在中国大陆市场赚钱。当然，如果在线视频网站领域出现整合——这似乎是不可避免的——制片商的好日子也可能会到头。但目前来看，长期被低估的中国电视和电影制片商势必要赢来一段黄金时期。

一句话：由於中国在线视频网站对内容的需求增长，国内电视和电影制片商势必会迎来一波黄金商机。

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