Tencent Looks to the Stars to Power Video Dreams 腾讯借力华谊进军网络视频领域

By newsdoug on May 11, 2011

At first blush, Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) recent purchase of 4.6 percent of popular TV and movie production house Huayi Bros (Shenzhen: 300027) for 450 million yuan, or about $70 million, looks like just another silly purchase by a company with way too much cash on its hands. (English article) But a second glance may be needed here. In fact, in the light of Tencent’s ongoing push to challenge Youku (NYSE: YOKU) and Tudou in online video (previous post), this deal actually makes quite a bit of sense and could even be a very savvy play by Tencent. As maker of some of China’s most popular films and TV shows, content from Huayi may be just the tonic that Tencent needs to drive Web surfers to its new online video offering. Equally important, the partnership could keep Huayi’s movies away from Youku, Tudou and other online video aspirants like Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). Look for more deals like this in the months ahead, as Tencent continues its push into the space.

Bottom line: Tencent’s Huayi Bros investment will it help it secure popular content for its new online video service, and keep that content away from competitors.

腾讯<0700.HK>最近决定以4.5亿元人民币购买华谊兄弟<300027.SZ>的4.6%股权，乍一看，这似乎又是个钱多了没处花、犯傻的案例。但我们得再好好琢磨一下。事实上，考虑到腾讯在网络视频领域挑战优酷<YOKU.N>和土豆网的雄心，此次购买华谊兄弟股权还是有意义的，甚至可能算是非常明智。华谊兄弟制作出了不少深受观众欢迎的电影电视剧，其提供的内容应有助於腾讯网络视频服务吸引网民。同样重要的是，这种战略合作关系，可防止优酷、土豆、百度<BIDU.O>等竞争对手使用华谊的娱乐内容。未来数月可继续关注类似交易。

一句话：腾讯投资华谊兄弟，可使其网络视频服务获得热门内容资源，并且可以阻止竞争对手取得这些内容。

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