Youku Tudou sues Xiaomi for copyright infringement
Earlier this week I wrote how smart TV could be poised for a sudden explosion in China due to a combination of factors that made the market especially well suited for development of this product. (previous post) Now we’re seeing one of the major obstacles that smart TVs could face, namely copyright lawsuits by various players against one another as each seeks to gain the upper hand in an increasingly competitive market. We could soon be seeing an avalanche of such litigation, with word that leading online video website Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) has just sued Xioami for copyright infringement, following the latter’s recent rollout of a new smart TV product. Read Full Post…
China’s smart TV space has gotten a big lift in recent months with a flurry of major new developments, including 2 major new moves this past week by industry veteran LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104). This sudden rush to smart TVs, which deliver most of their content over the Internet, is being driven by a number of factors that make China ideal for development of the market. Read Full Post…
Smart TVs, which let consumers watch programs via Internet-based channels, has suddenly become the latest flavor of the day for China tech firms, with just about every major Internet player piling into the market in the last few months. Top e-commerce firm Alibaba and search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) have both announced major new initiatives in the last 2 months, and now social networking leader Tencent (HKEx: 700) is joining the frenzy with its own new tie-up. At the same time, retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) may also be making moves in the space, with word that it’s near a deal to purchase online video company PPTV. Read Full Post…
Internet TV is fast becoming the flavor of the day for China’s leading Internet and gadget companies, with word that e-commerce giant Alibaba has now entered the field through a new tie-up with TV maker Skyworth (HKEx: 751). The news comes just a week after online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) announced its own similar tie-up with TCL Multimedia (HKEx: 1070), another leading TV maker, and following other similar recent product roll-outs by names like smartphone maker Xiaomi, video content provider LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) and PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). Read Full Post…
Let’s start the day with a look at the latest Internet TV tie-up between leading TV maker TCL Multimedia (HKEx: 1070) and online search leader Baidu, the latter of which has suddenly discovered a huge appetite for similar new partnerships. I need to start off by saying that anyone who didn’t see this latest tie-up coming must be living in a cave, as media previously reported on it a few weeks ago and TCL chief Li Dongsheng has been talking about it non-stop on his microblog these last few days. I’ve previously said that I like this deal for reasons I’ll recap shortly (previous post); but now that the deal is official, what’s more intriguing is the potential for a stronger tie-up in the future, including a potential equity swap or even a purchase of TCL Multimedia by Baidu. Read Full Post…
In the latest signal of the growing popularity of Internet TV, leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is reportedly preparing a tie-up in the space to promote its iQiyi online video service with top domestic TV maker TCL Multimedia (HKEx: 1070). The rapid growth in this area over the last year has been quite interesting to watch, as a number of major private companies have been piling into the space with new Internet-based offerings in a bid to challenge China’s notoriously slow and uncreative traditional TV sector. Read Full Post…
Software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) is pouncing on a recent rally in its shares to announce a massive new bond offering, becoming the latest in a select group of top Chinese tech firms to raise big new funds as investor enthusiasm returns to the sector. Following its announcement of upbeat earnings earlier this week, Qihoo has followed with word of the plan to offer senior 5-year notes worth $600 million. To put things in perspective, that amount is equal to more than 6 percent of the company’s market value, which is already quite inflated after Qihoo’s shares have nearly quadrupled over the last year. Read Full Post…
After watching leading online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) search for most of its life for projects with profit potential, I’m happy to finally see a new Internet TV initiative by the company that looks like it could have strong prospects. We’ll need to see some more details about this initiative and whether it actually happens before I can comment too much on its actual potential. But this move into the more mainstream TV market could be just the kind of boost that Youku Tudou needs in its quest to find sustainable profits. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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GM (NYSE: GM) China Sales Accelerate on Higher Demand for Cadillac (English article)
Huawei Says Hopes European Rivals Become Big Suppliers For China 4G (Chinese article)
WeChat 5.0 to Overhaul Public Accounts, Add Payment Features (English article)
LeTV’s (Shenzhen: 300104) First Batch Of Super TVs Sells Out In 49 Minutes (Chinese article)
Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) Seeks to Revive Brand With NBA Superstar Dwyane Wade
Media are all abuzz that trendy smartphone maker Xiaomi may be preparing to launch an Internet TV, after a photo was leaked showing boxes of the packaging for such a product in a warehouse. Of course it’s always possible the photos are doctored and were created by someone trying to stir up gossip about this up-and-coming company co-founded by the marketing savvy Lei Jun. But I’ve had a look at the photo, which features stacks of boxes with the words “Xioami TV – L47M1-AA 47-inch” printed on them, and have to say the pictures look authentic, meaning the rumors may be true. (English article; Chinese article) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Cook Apologizes For After-Sales Service Lapses (Chinese article)
