Viki doubles down on content arbitrage with Asian TV and movie deals
Viki secured a bunch of new content for its global TV platform, including Japanese TV shows that have never been available in other countries. Read more »
The world’s best paid content market? China, research says
photo: Robert S. Donovan
A majority of Chinese internet users say they pay for digital content. That finding is likely a demographic quirk — but may nevertheless mean a welcome market opportunity for vendors. Read more »
Open-source video’s Kaltura takes $25 million to go to Asia
photo: Corbis / Blend Images / LWA / Dann Tardif
In an Asian video market that’s growing fast and dominated by Vietnam, online software vendor Kaltura will open up efforts with a $25 million investment. Read more »
In China video wars, giants battle, upstart rides Android to homes
photo: Robert S. Donovan
Months after China’s largest online video site was formed through merger, Tencent claims its own video site has already overtaken its rival thanks to its incredible diversified digital service scale. Read more »
Now China’s big online video beast has all of Hollywood
Don’t call it ‘China’s Netflix’, but, fresh from its cost-saving merger, Asian video leader Tudou Youku now has agreements with all Hollywood majors to show their movies to its two million paying online video customers. Read more »
Netflix could partner with others to enter Asia
Asia is a tough market for Western companies, which is why Netflix is considering to partner with a local player as it looks for further international expansion options. The revelation was made during Tuesday’s Q3 earnings call, which had a somewhat sobering tone. Read more »
Google, Yahoo see contrasting fortunes in South Korea
photo: Seoul: skinnylawyer // Android: Robert Andrews
While Yahoo pulls out of South Korea citing “challenging” conditions, Google is seeing strong mobile revenue growth. What is the difference leading to contrasting fortunes? Read more »
US app ads help fund Chinese mobile ‘propaganda’
photo: Robert S. Donovan
US politicians want to outlaw Chinese mobile phones – but China’s state news agency is happy to use an American technology vendor to power its mobile advertising ambitions. Read more »
Video portal LeTV going to Chinese living rooms through its own TVs
Why distribute your video over third-party internet boxes when you can make your own internet TV? Chinese portal LeTV wants to own each piece of the online video chain. Read more »
Japanese music pirates face jail, big fines
photo: Shutterstock / Strelka
New laws make downloading, as well as uploading, content illegally an offence punishable by a prison term and a large fine in Japan, in contrast with the emerging approach elsewhere. Read more »
Yandex latest to build an empire off Google’s back
Around the world, rival services are gobbling up emerging markets by rebadging Google’s software. Yandex is the latest, with its own Chrome-based web browser and alternative Android app store. Read more at GigaOM »
Hulu brings Saturday Night Live to Japan hours after US broadcast
Seth McFarlane’s performance on Saturday Night Live became available on Hulu Japan just hours after it aired on NBC in the U.S., and upcoming episodes will be released in the country just as fast. But don’t expect Hollywood to give up on international windows altogether. Read more »
China’s largest e-tailer agrees to stop movie pirates
photo: Robert S. Donovan
Legal online movie services offered by sites like Youku and Tudou may benefit after e-commerce platform Taobao consents to Hollywood’s pleas that it stop selling counterfeit movie discs. Read more »
Chinese video leaders Youku and Tudou merge to cut costs
photo: Youku
China’s online video market is set for strong growth – so much so that the leading services are merging to share the costs of expansion. Read more »
Interview: How China’s giant Tencent makes users pay
No wonder Tencent ranked #9 in this year’s paidContent 50. In a land considered a piracy hotbed, the massive Chinese service has attracted millions to pay for online experiences. It’s all thanks to the humble instant messenger, Tencent GM Sophia Ong tells paidContent. Read more »
What’s a portal for in the mobile age? Sina searches its soul
photo: Shutterstock / Digital Storm
Portals used to be the on-ramp to a world of desktop web services. But individual apps and services rule the smartphone waves. Sina admits it’s worried and frightened about its role as internet springboard evaporating on mobile. Read more »
Look out, Zynga; China’s online game giants are coming to America
photo: RJ Bailey
China’s online games market is huge. Now some of its biggest publishers want to replicate that success in the west. Where does that leave Zynga and Playfish? Read more »
Kobo’s big in Japan already, now heads to Italy
The Kobo e-reader looks like becoming an e-books success in Japan following its acquisition by Pinterest investor Rakuten. Read more »
Rakuten putting Pinterest, Kobo to work in Japan
After acquiring and investing in e-books’ Kobo and social sharing’s Pinterest, Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten rolls both out at home in the same week. Read more »
News Corp’s IGN games site going to Asia-Pacific
News Corp’s video gaming news and reviews site IGN is launching in to China, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Hong Kong, as part of its ambition to be a global games media brand. Read more »
Pinterest investor Rakuten buys its way in to European VOD
It seems the world has a new digital media M&A power player. Fresh from buying Play.com, Kobo and a piece of Pinterest, Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is acquiring Spanish TV and movie streaming service Wuaki.tv. Read more »
Phorm taking even more money for ad targeting dream, now in China
Heard this one before? Controversial ISP-level web ads targeter Phorm is taking on more money to seek riches in another new country. But can it succeed in Asia where it has failed before? Read more »
Dragons, bulls and bears: How are China’s digital media faring on Wall Street?
photo: Sina Weibo
Wall Street is replete with Chinese digital media stocks. But, as the Nasdaq welcomes yet another amid Facebook’s slump, how is the Chinese internet faring in New York? Read more »
Facebook doesn’t just want world domination: it needs it
Facebook’s rise has come on the back of astonishing international growth — but it needs to keep expanding everywhere, and in every way, to keep up with investors’ expectations. Where can it find the silver bullet? And how will it happen? Read more at GigaOM »
Japan’s Docomo buying mobile content powerhouse Buongiorno for €224 million
photo: Buongiorno
Japan’s largest mobile telco is about to buy in to mobile media content in Europe and farther afield, by acquiring one of the space’s pioneer companies. Read more »
Apple TV rumor mill makes millions as iTV ‘confirmed’
photo: Chris Hondros/Getty Images
Apple may not be buying a high-design German home entertainment device maker, but that doesn’t mean investors in the rumoured target company won’t make a killing – and it doesn’t mean it won’t still have a part to play in Apple’s iTV. Read more »
BBC’s Rivera wants to make 2012 digital’s Coronation
“The Olympics will be the biggest 19 days in the 15 years of BBC Online,” says BBC future media director Ralph Rivera, as he summarises a big year for the service. Read more »
Interview: 5 Questions for Future CEO Mark Wood
The chief of one of the publishers with most magazines on iPad wants to make more of them interactive and start licensing his production tools to rivals, after selling half a million Newsstand titles in six months. Read more »
People’s Daily Online shares suspended after excessive trading
photo: Robert S. Donovan
We knew that shares in People’s Daily Online (SHA:603000), China’s government-backed news website, were hot, but apparently they’re a little too hot to handle. Read more »
Digital reading beginning to take Chinese mindshare
photo: Robert S. Donovan
The newspaper industry frequently thanks emerging markets growth for the surprising quirk of global print circulation growth.
But now emerging markets, too, are becoming advanced online media markets. Read more »
China video wars: rivals unite to gobble growth
photo: Shutterstock / Sofiaworld
As China’s two online video leaders merge to improve their position in the fast-growing field, three of their rivals are teaming up to fight back. Read more »
China’s Got Talent – Youku powers the people’s pop hopes
photo: Youku
China’s YouTube strikes a deal with broadcasters to power a western-style singing contest, as it merges with rival Tudou in a $1 billion deal. Read more »
Did Sina just introduce — and then kill — an anonymous news reporting platform?
photo: Robert S. Donovan
The curious case of the missing citizen news site. Where is the new service that China’s Twitter-beating microblog operator launched to give news organisations anonymous tips? Read more »
Amazon reportedly making progress with Japanese publishers
photo: Getty Images / Spencer Platt
Six months after first reports emerged Amazon was negotiating to take e-books Japan, it has reportedly struck its first such deal. Read more »
China’s communist state news website aims for $245 million IPO raise
photo: Robert S. Donovan
China’s Communist Party is doing a good impression of a Silicon Valley news startup, as it floats its official newspaper’s web operation to finance catching up commercial services. Read more »
Chinese Android Apps Are Bypassing Google’s Play Store
photo: Corbis
A mobile platform is only as strong as its app line-up, which in turn relies on the co-operation and keenness of app developers.
But lookin… Read more »
Baidu Takes Aim At Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDrive, With Cloud Storage Service
photo: Shutterstock / Jirsak
Chinese search engine leader Baidu is holding a developers conference today, from where it has just launched a cloud storage platform called… Read more »
Chinese Theatrical Market Booms, But Real Action May Be In Video On Demand
photo: Shutterstock / Chiyacat
The Motion Picture Association of America released statistics today saying that Chinese theatrical revenue grew 35 percent to nearly $2 bill… Read more »
Chinese Writers' Apple Book Piracy Claims Grow Louder
Twenty-two Chinese authors now plan to sue Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) for 50 million yuan ($7.9 million), claiming 95 of their books were published… Read more »
Youku And Tudou Merge To Create Chinese Online Video Powerhouse
photo: Youku
After threatening to sue each other for copyright infringement in December, the largest players in China’s fast-growing online video market… Read more »
