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Media/Entertainment
youngchinabiz.com : latest Business news about Media – Entertainment in China by expert / journalist Doug Young : more than two decades of experience in writting about Chinese Companies
Bottom line: Sina’s latest board reduction to just 5 members looks like a strategic move by Chairman and CEO Charles Chao, as he prepares a sale that will give him a major executive position at his company post-merger.
Sina board shrinks to just 5 members
The share price isn’t the only thing shrinking these days at leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA). The board of one of China’s oldest Internet companies has also just undergone a major reduction, with 2 of its 7 members leaving without any sign of replacements. I’m not extremely familiar with Sina’s board and its dynamics, but it does seem like 5 members is quite small for a company of Sina’s size and could reflect a power play by longtime Chairman and CEO Charles Chao.
Such a play could be prelude to the sale of Sina to a rival, with e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) as the most likely candidate. I’ve been predicting such a sale for a while now, and this latest move looks like the latest signal that Chao could be clearing out board members who might oppose such a deal. With just 5 members left on the board, Chao would only need 2 to agree with him to approve a deal that he would personally negotiate. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Shanghai Disneyland will meet its target of opening in the half of this year, but the event will be marked by numerous small problems that are common with such big projects but generate negative publicity.
Disneyland set for June 16 opening
The countdown to launch for what’s likely to become one of Disney’s (NYSE; DIS) biggest growth drivers for the next decade has officially begun, with announcement of a June 16 opening date for the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disneyland resort. The most noteworthy thing about this particular announcement is the date itself, which falls within Disney’s target for an opening in the first half of the year. The newest Disneyland was originally set to open by the end of last year, and another delay would have sent a negative signal that the park was running into more problems.
But the June 16 opening date comes just within Disney’s latest target, hinting at the huge complexity of a project that will draw not only huge crowds but also intense media attention at the start. From a purely seasonal perspective, a more ideal opening date would have been in April, when Shanghai’s weather starts to warm and a full day outside becomes a comfortable proposition for tourists after the long winter. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: A new correction in China’s stock markets could derail many of the buyout offers for US-listed Chinese firms, leaving many orphaned in New York if Chinese financial markets enter a prolonged period of stagnation.
Perfect World in backdoor listing in Shenzhen
Online game operator Perfect World has become the latest Chinese firm to return home after leaving New York, with word that the company has made a backdoor listing through an affiliate in Shenzhen. But this latest re-listing comes at the same time that China’s stock markets look set for another big correction, a development that could pour cold water on the dozens of other US-listed Chinese firms waiting to privatize.
China’s stock markets tanked by a remarkable 12 percent in the first 4 trading days of 2016, including 2 days on which trading was halted by a circuit breaker that cut off all activity after the market fell by 7 percent. Some blamed the slide on the implementation of the circuit breaker program, which just began this year and was designed to prevent the kind of volatility that is now happening. Read Full Post…
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…
Bottom line: The delay in Netflix’s plans to enter China this year may be due to lobbying from domestic online video companies, and it could be several more years before it gets permission to form a China venture.
China absent in major Netflix expansion
Shareholders of US entertainment giant Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) will be disappointed to learn that China wasn’t included on the company’s global road map, as it announced a major expansion for its signature online video service. Many believed that an entry to China could come as early as this year, after media reported last spring that Netflix was in talks to set up a Chinese online video joint venture with Wasu Media (Shenzhen: 000156), which is backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA).
But the road into China was never going to be easy for any foreign online video company, due to Beijing’s heavy censorship of the Internet and also its inherent bias against big foreign companies. All that said, Netflix isn’t exactly writing off China completely either, but is simply saying its road into the market may take longer than it previously hoped. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: iDreamSky’s finalized buyout offer marks the start of a new wave that will see more than a half dozen US-listed Chinese firms sign similar offers by the Lunar New Year, mostly at the same prices from original privatization deals announced last year.
iDreamSky finalizes buyout bid
The New Year is kicking off with a shot of deja vu, as a wave of companies that announced privatization bids in the first half of 2015 are now returning to investors with concrete offers. In the latest chapter of this two-part wave, mobile game operator iDreamSky (Nasdaq: DSKY) has just announced its signing of a formal deal to take the company private.
iDreamSky announced its original intent to privatize last June, at the height of a wave that saw about 3 dozen such de-listing bids proposed last year, mostly in the first half. The wave of announcements skidded to a halt in mid June when China’s stock markets underwent a massive correction after an even larger rally. But with China’s markets showing signs of stability, the de-listing movement has resumed. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Rumors that Shanghai Media Group is in talks for a strategic stake of Baidu’s iQiyi could quite possibly be true, with an investment of about $3 billion likely in exchange for half of the company.
iQiyi talking tie-up with SMG?
The New Year is starting with a salient rumor from the online video space, with reports that the new media investment arm of Shanghai Media Group (SMG) may be eyeing a major stake purchase of Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) iQiyi. The reports aren’t being widely circulated in the Chinese media yet, which suggests they may not be accurate. The head of SMG’s China Media Capital (CMC), which would reportedly make the investment, has also previously said he’s not interested in online video assets right now.
But such a tie-up would be quite consistent with Baidu’s recent strategy of selling major stakes in its non-core businesses to strategic partners. From SMG’s perspective, such a deal would also make sense, as it plays catch-up with both private companies and also state-owned rival Hunan Broadcasting in the fast-evolving online video space. Read Full Post…
Bottom line:Wanda’s decision to set up its sports division headquarters in Guangzhou is part of a diversification away from Beijing, and could presage an IPO for the unit in Hong Kong as early as next year.
Wanda sets up sports HQ in Guangzhou
A recent series of major sporting moves is back in the financial headlines as 2016 approaches, with word that real estate giant Wanda Group is setting up a new headquarters for its growing sports business in the southern city of Guangzhou. Those same reports hint at another major theme in the new year, which could see a new wave of IPOs for some of these big new sporting investments by names like Wanda.
Sporting investments have become a major theme in the current year, reflecting a sudden desire for content and related services to feed China’s fast-growing entertainment sector. E-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) kicked off the wave last year with its investment in a domestic soccer club, and has been joined this year by a wide range of companies that includes Wanda, electronics retailer Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) and online video operator LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104). Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Shanda Games’ privatization could de-rail again due to fraud allegations against the head of its buyout group, while scandal-plagued Hanergy could receive a management-led offer soon to de-list its shares from Hong Kong.
Shanda buyout team leader detained in fraud probe
The “Year of the Buyout” for US-listed Chinese companies is ending on a couple of interesting notes, led by the reported detention of the head of a group trying to privatize Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME), one of China’s oldest online game companies. Somewhat ironically, Shanda Games announced its plans to privatize nearly 2 years ago, well before the more recent flood of similar offers announced by around 3 dozen US-listed Chinese companies this year.
Meantime, controversial solar energy equipment maker Hanergy (HKEx: 566) is making its own new noises that hint of a potential privatization bid in the not-too-distant future. In this case the company has announced its founder plans to sell a sizable chunk of his shares for far below their last traded price. The shares have been suspended since May over suspicions of price manipulation, and it’s quite possible this new sale price could indicate a broader plan to take the company private at this new, significantly lower valuation. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: LeTV will announce the launch of a new smart TV and video services in the US during the Consumer Electronics Show in last Vegas next month, but the foray will end in failure due to inexperience and fierce competition.
LeTV goes to CES
China’s LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) looks set to launch its trademark smart TVs and affiliated video service in the US, a move that would make it the first Chinese player to enter a major western market. In this case LeTV is making lots of noises that point to such a move, though it hasn’t officially announced anything just yet.
The company is preparing to attend the massive Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next month for the first time, providing the perfect venue for such an announcement. The other major signals for such a launch come from LeTV’s own recently launched US online mall, lemall.com/us, whose product offerings include a $799 smart TV that is currently not available but “coming soon”. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: The new alliance between Tencent and Zhejiang TV reflects the growing strength of China’s big Internet companies in online video, and will benefit but also challenge both sides.
By Lin Nanwei
Tencent, Zhejiang TV in new partnership
Last week’s World Internet Conference in the scenic water town of Wuzhen attracted media attention due to attendance by most of the sector’s top leaders, even though few said anything substantial. But Tencent(HKEx: 700) Chairman and CEO Pony did a little homework before he came.
The day before the curtain came down on the big event, Ma appeared at another event in nearby Hangzhou to announce a strategic partnership between Tencent and Zhejiang Television & Radio Group, the province’s largest state-owned TV broadcaster. According to reports, the 2 sides will focus on cooperation in development of content, channels and promotional activities. (Chinese article) Read Full Post…
