CHINA TOPIX

03/28/2024 02:38:59 pm

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Chinese Companies Gearing Up To Take On Hollywood

Jack Ma

(Photo : Baidu.com) Jack Ma visits 6 Hollywood Studios; Alibaba may set an office in Los Angeles next year

The Chinese big three internet giants, Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (BAT), are launching active participation in Hollywood by starting to arrange a complete industrial chain. Jack Ma will visit Los Angeles as Alibaba may set up an office there next year. Baidu will purchase digital rights with a huge sum of money, using big data to grasp consumers. Tencent seeks for cooperation with international studios to reproduce their work.

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Hollywood has been busy meeting with Chinese visitors this November. The new richest man of China, Jack Ma of Alibaba Pictures Group Limited, just visited six Hollywood studios and executives. Just after that, Gong Yu, CEO of iQiyi.com under Baidu visited six Hollywood studios as well. As the only investor of Ningmeng Pictures, Tencent purchased films and discussed cooperation with Hollywood in this year's American Film Market.

As of the end of June 2014, the number of Chinese online video users reached 439 million. Online video traffic covers more than 70 percent of total internet traffic. Online movies and televisions have a great contribution on internet traffic as well.

Among the BAT, iQiyi under Baidu currently has the top spot in terms of user coverage and browse time while Tencent video is in third place. Alibaba does not have its own video website yet, but the company has invested in Youku and Tudou to establish a strategic cooperation partnership.

To allow BAT to have their own channels, it is important to have high quality products to attract more users. This is why these three companies are currently concentrating on purchasing films and production.

Alibaba lacks this industrial experience, but does not lack money. It became a shareholder of China Vision Media Group in March 2014. It subsequently changed its name to Alibaba Pictures Group.

Alibaba Pictures Group held a seminar specifically for films and televisions during Ma's trip to Los Angeles. CEO and Executive Board Director of Alibaba Pictures Group Zhang Qiang and independent board member Jet Li also attended. According to an anonymous participant, Alibaba intends to look for and reserve talents. It also officially announced its intention of setting up an office in Los Angeles next year.

It is said that Alibaba has discussed with famous science fiction film director James Cameron about cooperation for a long time. Science fiction films will be an important direction for the film industry in the future, so it seems Alibaba has a huge ambition on original content of films. 

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