The latest “me-too” war is brewing on China’s vibrant but crowded Internet with word that online video specialist LeTV is rolling out a new set-top box product that will allow consumers to surf the Web on their TVs. This new product roll-out comes just a month after up-and-coming smartphone maker Xiaomi launched its own set-top box product, and not long after PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) also entered this space that looks promising but has yet to find a major audience. (previous post)
Tag Archives: LeTV
News Digest: December 20 报摘： 2012年12月20日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN) Reaches Final Privatizing Agreement, Deal to Close in Q2 (Chinese article)
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad Mini, iPad 4 Receive Chinese Network Access Permits (English article)
- Xiaomi to Sell MI2 Handsets on Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Microblog Platform (English article)
- LeTV (Shenzhen 300104) Launches Set-Top Box Costing 399 Yuan, Challenges Xiaomi (Chinese article)
- LG Electronics (Seoul: 066570) Says No Plans to Leave China Mobile Phone Market (Chinese article)
News Digest: November 3 报摘： 2012年11月3日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 3-5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Acquires Providence Equity Partners’ Stake in iQiyi (PRNewswire)
- Nestle (Switzerland: NESN): Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) Baby Food Deal Cleared By China (English article)
- AutoTrader Buys 22 Pct of Chinese Car Site Bitauto (NYSE: BITA) For $58.5 Mln (English article)
- LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) Sues Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) for IPR Infringement (English article)
- ZTE (HKEx: 763) Sees Over 40 Percent Rise In 2013 Smartphone Shipments (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
News Digest: November 1 报摘： 2012年11月1日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) to Re-enter China B2C Market With Xiu.com – Source (Chinese article)
- New Extension Likely For CNOOC (HKEx: 883) Nexen (Toronto: NXY) Review – Sources (English article)
- HiSoft (Nasdaq: HSFT) Reaffirms Q3 and Full Year 2012 Guidance (PRNewswire)
- Jingdong Mall, LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) Partner on Video Shopping (English article)
- Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) Video CEO Denies Timetable For IPO (Chinese article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Youku, Tudou: No Honeymoon Ahead 优酷与土豆“婚”後将无蜜月可度
The proposed marriage between Youku (NYSE: YOKU) and Tudou (Nasdaq: TUDO) looks like a done deal, with shareholders of both companies approving the union at separate meetings on the same day. (Youku announcement; Tudou announcement) So now the question becomes: what does the union mean for the longer term development of the new company, Youku Tudou, and also what does the formation of this new industry leader mean for other major players? In a nutshell, I honestly don’t think the future looks very bright for anyone, due to both individual company issues and broader industry issues as well.
Baidu: Addicted to Piracy 百度：沉溺于盗版
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) may be China’s undisputed Internet search leader, but new reports circulating about an abrupt collapse of talks over a new video partnership illustrate just how dependent this company is on less-than-ethical business practices like piracy and stealth advertising for its rapid growth. Chinese media are reporting that Baidu has ended discussions that would have brought online video to its service through a new partnership with LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) after Baidu refused to LeTV’s condition that it eliminate pirated video from its video search site results. (English article) While other major Internet sites seem to be making a real effort to eliminate pirated music, video and other copyrighted material from their sites, Baidu has made some high-profile announcements to try to convince people it is making similar moves, while quietly allowing pirating activity to continue unabated on its sites. The company announced a major new initiative last year to offer legal music over its site in a tie-up with several major record labels, only to add it had no plans to simultaneously close its older popular music sharing site where piracy is so rampant that the major global music labels filed a lawsuit against Baidu several years back. (previous post) This latest development just underscores how addicted Baidu is to piracy, one factor that has helped it to triumph in the domestic search market over global players like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), ,which actively police their sites to keep off pirated material. This addiction to piracy is just one of Baidu’s less-than-ethical practices. The other big one is its reported willingness to manipulate search results for anyone willing to pay for such services. That includes not only giving advertisers high placement in search results without telling web surfers that such high placement was paid for, but also reportedly other things like conveniently removing negative news from search results for any individual or company that is willing to pay. So why does Baidu engage in such practices when clearly they go against international standards? The answer is simple: because it can, and because such practices are one of the main drivers for the high growth rates have made Baidu stock a darling of investors. I have no doubt that Baidu will continue to engage in such practices, and a smart, well-funded competitor like Google or Tencent (HKEx: 700) should take advantage of the situation to launch a campaign to inform the public and steal some of Baidu’s traffic. But that looks unlikely to happen anytime soon, meaning Baidu will continue with its current practices for the foreseeable future until someone — be it consumers, a rival or the government — finally steps in and says “enough is enough”.
Bottom line: The break-up of talks for a online video tie-up between Baidu and LeTV underscores Baidu’s dependence on piracy as a major driver of traffic to its site.
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ After Years, Baidu Does the Right Thing 百度多年来的一个正确之举
Search Blocking Wars Expand to Video 搜索屏蔽战蔓延至在线视频业
The search-blocking wars that gripped the e-commerce sector in the second half of last year have spread to the online video space, where Tudou (Nasdaq: TUDO) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) video, the second and third largest operators, have blocked their content from a video search engine operated by top player Youku (NYSE: YOKU). (English article) Of course the biggest loser in this latest blockage battle will be the Chinese consumer, who will find it difficult to find the movies and TV shows he wants to view, which will also hurt the broader industry’s development. Let’s backtrack a moment and look at this latest development in a vibrant but perplexing industry where company behavior more often resembles children fighting in a sandlot than major corporations trying to do business. According to Chinese media reports citing a Tudou representative, Tudou and Sohu video, along with another major video site operator LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104), all decided to block their content from searches by Soku, an online video search engine operated by Yoku. The move comes as Tudou and Youku are embroiled in a series of lawsuits over copyright infringement (previous post), and just as the online video sector has started to sign a series of ground-breaking deals to legally license popular TV shows and movies as they try to wean themselves from the pirated content that was traditionally the main attraction on their sites. Youku announced the latest such deal just yesterday in a new tie-up with Twentieth Century Fox (Nasdaq: NWSA) (company announcement); but this latest spat will surely overshadow that news. In fact, moves like this could ultimately threaten future licensing deals, as this kind of blockage will ultimately make it more difficult for consumers to find the programs they want to watch online, putting a serious damper on the industry’s development. This latest development also comes as Chinese regulators consider restricting the amount of advertising that online video sites can put in their programs, potentially dealing another big blow. (previous post) From a broader perspective, these kind of developments don’t bode well for online video in 2012, and could even delay the money-losing industry’s march to long-term profitability.
Bottom line: A new search blocking war in the online video industry will hamper its development and, along with other negative developments, delay a transition to long-term profitability.
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ Tudou, Youku: China’s New Piracy Police 土豆和优酷：中国打击盗版的民间警察
◙ 2011: A Breakthrough Year in Copyright Protection 2011年：中国版权保护取得突破的一年
◙ Search Wars Heat Up With Latest Anti-Baidu Moves 中国网络搜索战升温
Tudou Name Tossed Around as IPO Looms IPO临近 土豆网新闻多
I have to say that video sharing site Tudou gets this year’s award for most mentioned company in media reports in the run-up to its bumpy IPO, with new wrinkles in this strange story sprouting up in the media almost daily. After reporting last week the company was in talks to sell part or all of itself to leading online search site Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) (previous post), Chinese media went on to say the company was also in talks with leading online video site Youku (NYSE: YOKU), as well as another online video site called LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104). (English article; Chinese article) Meantime, international media reported about the same time late last week that Tudou’s $180 million IPO — which was originally set for late last year but got delayed due to Chairman Gary Wang’s messy divorce — had been fully subscribed, with pricing set for Tuesday and an official trading debut on Wednesday. So, what’s going on here? Clearly Wang is trying to wheel and deal his way to a deal that will give his company the highest valuation possible, and he’s most probably seeing better valuations from a sale of his company than he is for an IPO. Cash-rich Baidu and Youku are most likely offering the best deals, but both of those would almost certainly require Wang to step down as chairman — something he and heads of similar Chinese companies are usually reluctant to do. An IPO would obviously allow Wang to stay on as chairman, and it’s quite possible the company or its bankers are deliberately leaking rumors about acquisitions to the media to stir up investor interest in an otherwise chilly IPO market. If I were a bettor, I would put my money on the IPO going forward, with a 70 percent chance of success. Among the private buyers, Baidu probably stands a better chance than Youku, as the former can offer more money and also the small possibility that Wang can continue to run the business. Stay tuned for an interesting finale to this rocky but colorful IPO later in the week.
Bottom line: Tudou is likely to go ahead with its $180 million IPO, declining lucrative buyout offers as chairman Gary Wang opts for control of the company over cash.
不得不说，土豆网在走向IPO的道路上，算得上是今年中国媒体提及最多的一家企业了，关於土豆的新闻几乎天天不缺。上周媒体报导，百度<BIDU.O>正在洽购土豆，中国媒体现在又称土豆也在与优酷网<YOKU.N>、乐视网<300104.Z>洽谈。同时，国际媒体上周大约同一时间报导，土豆1.8亿美元IPO已经获得足额认购，定价日定於本周二，周三为首个交易日。那麽，到底是什麽情况？显然土豆网董事长兼CEO王微有着自己的算盘，想要按照自己的方式为公司争取最高的估值，而且他可能觉得出售公司的估值比IPO的会更高。百度、优酷最有可能给出好报价，但两家公司几乎一定都会要求王微辞任董事长，这是他与其他很多类似中国企业的负责人都不愿意做的事情。IPO显然可以让王微保住董事长的职位，而且极有可能是土豆自己或帮助其上市的投行故意向媒体透露收购传闻，以激起投资者对公司IPO的兴趣。如果要赌的话，我会把钱压在IPO上，胜算七成。土豆的各家求购者中，百度的机会可能要比优酷大一些，因为百度给的钱可能会更多，而且王微还有很小的机会继续管理公司。土豆曲折离奇而又多姿多彩的IPO本周稍晚如何落幕？大家不妨拭目以待。
一句话：土豆可能会继续推进IPO，拒绝其他企业的收购报价，因为在权、钱衡量中，王微更倾向於掌控公司的控制权。
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ Baidu Seeks Diversification in Tudou Talks 百度求购土豆，寻求多元化
