Tiedong Zhou
Tiedong is currently President of China Film Import & Export, Inc.
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Wednesday 10.04.06
Clash of the Chinese Film Titans
Only one movie from Mainland China is accepted for the Oscar race each year for the category of Best Foreign Film. For this year, two major Chinese movies, both directed by the country’s top-notch directors, were competing for the opportunity. In this article from Asia Times, a lot of back stories about these movies and their directors are told.
“Which of the two production companies is most likely to sway the committee’s decision? While Huayi Brothers Pictures is certainly not a newcomer to the field, it does not possess the mature international reputation of Edko Films. Its stellar growth has raised the eyebrows of Paramount and Miramax executives, but its name is not yet a guarantee of success. The North American distribution rights of The Banquet have not yet been sold. The US distribution rights of Curse of the Golden Flower were sold long before production wrapped.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Monday 10.02.06
Indian network forges alliance with China TV
In today’s world, global information exchange has become a fact of life. The same is true with the Chinese TV market, as international media have been making continuous efforts to establish strategic relationships with local television companies. This short article from The Hollywood Reporter shows an example of such a cooperation between the top TV corporations of these two neighboring countries.
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Category: Chinese TV
Monday 9.25.06
China TV show to pick Olympic coxes
As the 2008 Beijing Olympics is drawing near, the entire media industry in China is becoming agitated for Olympics related content. With reality shows becoming growingly popular in the country, many TV stations and production companies are conceiving all kinds of innovative ways to combine reality elements and the Olympic theme into the development of new shows. Based on this article from The Guardian, a world-wide selection of the steersman for the Chinese Rowing Team will be featured in this new TV show.
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Monday 9.25.06
China TV show to pick Olympic coxes
As the 2008 Beijing Olympics is drawing near, the entire media industry in China is becoming agitated for Olympics related content. With reality shows becoming growingly popular in the country, many TV stations and production companies are conceiving all kinds of innovative ways to combine reality elements and the Olympic theme into the development of new shows. Based on this article from The Guardian, a world-wide selection of the steersman for the Chinese Rowing Team will be featured in this new TV show.
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Category: Chinese TV
Wednesday 9.20.06
New “Model” for Chinese TV
Reality shows with competitive themes are becoming increasingly popular on Chinese television in the past few years. A good example would be Hunan Television’s “Super Voice Girls,” which features a singing competition among girls, similar to “The Aermcian Idol.” According to this article from Yahoo.com (originally in “The Hollywood Reporter"), “China’s Next Top Model” will soon be found on the TV screen in China.
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Category: Chinese TV
Wednesday 9.13.06
Venice critics want a more Chinese “Banquet”
Ancitipated to be another symbol of Chinese movie industry’s internationalization,"The Banquet” is a major production with a domestically renouned director and internationally acclaimed cast members, including the new Chinese Hollywood star Ziyi Zhang. But so far, as suggested by this article from Xinhuanet.com, the movie has not received enthusiastic reactions in China or abroad for completely different reasons. This may cast shadow on the hopes people have for this movie to become an Oscar candidate.
“ A loose adaptation of “Hamlet,” “The Banquet” is set in an empire in chaos. The emperor, the empress and the prince all have their own enemies they would like to finish off at a banquet.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Monday 9.11.06
The China Angle: ‘Cupid Puts In Overtime’
Online games typically reap the most profits from different festivities in China, particularly those that are popular among the younger crowd. This year’s lunar calendar contains two Julies, which means there are one more traditional Valentine’s Day (July 7) in China to please the online game providers. Starting from there, this web page from Gamasutra.com provides more latest news with respect to the Chinese online gaming industry.
“For China’s online game companies, an extra Valentine’s Day is nearly as good as having an extra Christmas shopping season. Most have already taken advantage of the first Chinese Valentine’s Day on July 31. Every company launched special in-game activitiesfor the holiday. Netease was the big winner with around two-thirds of its 300 server groups at full capacity for its Q (cute) -Style MMORPG Fantasy Westward Journey during the activity.”
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Wednesday 8.30.06
Chinese Entrepreneur in UK Moves into China and Bollywood with 2m Investment
The strict rules and restrictions in the Chinese media market do not necessarily mean there is zero business opportunity for investors. Based on this short story from Telegraph, this British Chinese businessman has made his move to invest in the production of a major Chinese film. And he has high expectations for his investment plans in Asia.
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Category: Chinese Film
Friday 8.25.06
China to Begin Mobile TV Trials in 2007 - report
China is becoming the testing ground for many technological novelties. With a cell phone population of over 200 million in the country, it sounds like a good idea to boost TV ratings among these mobile users. As this story from Forbes suggests, watching TV on your cell phone will likely become a part of life in China in the near future.
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Category: Chinese TV
Wednesday 8.23.06
China To Ban Foreign Cartoons In Prime Time
Foreign cartoons have long been a very popular source of entertainment among Chinese kids, overshadowing domestic ones. As reported in the following story on China Daily, watching these cartoons on prime-time TV will soon become a part of the history. While it is still difficult to tell what the authorities’ real intentions are, it may be attributed to the government’s ongoing efforts to protect domestic media industries.
“The first foreign cartoon introduced to China was a Japanese cartoon called “Astro Boy” in 1981. Since then, a large quantity of foreign cartoons crammed into China.”
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Category: Chinese TV
Monday 8.21.06
China, US and UK to Jointly Shoot Movie on Nanjing
The Nanjing Massacre was a major event in the history of the anti-Japanese war in China during World War II. According to China.org.cn, resources worldwide are currently being pulled together to create an epic movie based on this tragic event. Worth noting is that the story will be told in English.
“The Nanjing Massacre occurred in December 1937 when Japanese aggressor troops occupied Nanjing, the then capital of China. Over 300,000 Chinese were killed, one third of the houses in the city were burned and more than 20,000 women were raped.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Friday 7.07.06
China Earmarks 5% of Box Office to Support Indigenous Cinema
The Chinese domestic movie industry is confronted with an increasingly competitive international film market and the bombardment of Hollywood movies. Under such circumstances, rigid rules and regulations on foreign media may not be the best strategy to protect the business. Rather, as seen in this story from Netribution, a better protection would be to infuse new capital into the industry so as to help it grow and become stronger.
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Category: Chinese Film
Friday 6.30.06
European filmmakers rivet eye on Chinese market
While the rules and regulations on foreign media ownership in China are not likely to change in the foreseeable future, it doesn’t mean there are absolutely no opportunities for global media conglomerates in the country. Sometimes it would be wise to go around the existing policies and find some new ground. As described in this story from Sina.com, media co-production projects seem to be the best strategy at this moment to become involved in the Chinese market.
“The Chinese Government is mulling over preferential policies to encourage joint-venture film production by China and European nations. Products based on the cooperation will enjoy a national treatment and be sold directly on the Chinese market.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Wednesday 6.28.06
Disney sees gaming in China as entry point
It looks like the mobile arena is not the only option international media giants are considering when it comes to market penetration in China. Based on this story from AdAge.com, Disney’s famous cartoon characters will soon make their first appearance in Chinese online games. This attempt will likely open the door to a lot more business opportunities for the company, rather than patiently waiting for the the markets of traditional media (i.e., television and film) to open up.
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Thursday 6.15.06
News Corp sells Phoenix TV stake to China Mobile
News Corp’s partially owned Phoenix Satellite Television has been one of the few successful examples of overseas broadcasters in mainland China. Despite the strict regulations on foreign media ownership in the country, Phoenix TV has somehow survived and flourished with a current coverage of about 40 million households. Based on this story from Washington Post, the recent move made by China Mobile, the country’s largest telecommunications service provider, may suggest a new wave of media conglomeration in China.
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Category: Chinese TV
Monday 5.08.06
China Hardens Censorship Rules On TV News, Dramas
Perhaps no surprise to the existing restrictions in the Chinese media industry, some additional rules have been issued by authorities. Based on these new regulations, Chinese TV stations can no longer use footage from other sources than from Chinese official sources. This story from Canada’s CBC provides further details on these censorship rules.
“The move comes following the Communist Party’s crack down on newspapers and magazines in 2005. Last year, the government imposed a freeze on foreign investment in media ventures, from magazines to television stations.”
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Category: Chinese TV
Monday 5.01.06
Chinese Media Company to Partner with LUXE TV
As a lot Chinese consumers are becoming richer, more luxury goods have been introduced to the market. Bringing such products to digital television is another new concept. As seen in this article from the DMN Forum, Chinese consumers will soon have access to luxuries through television.
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Category: Chinese TV
Wednesday 4.26.06
Shooting on Location
From “Hero” to “Kung Fu Hustle,” Chinese movies have been catching up pretty quickly with the global pace of filmed entertainment. In turn, a notable number of industry leaders have emerged in the entertainment arena in the country. This article from MSNBC tells an intriguing story about one of the top-notch film producers from Beijing who has a reputation of being the Chinese Harvey Weinstein.
“Wang and his older brother Zhongjun, 46, started their venture in 1994, while China’s capitalist boom was just getting underway. Zhongjun, who also goes by the English name Dennis, had just returned from studying graphic design in the United States, and the brothers decided to plunge into China’s relatively new advertising industry. They bought an existing company called Huayi; within two years they’d turned it into one of Beijing’s top agencies.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Wednesday 4.19.06
Online Games To Cash In On Women
Interestingly, online games are becoming increasingly popular among Chinese women. To appeal to more female players, some online gaming companies have designed many new games tailered to the tastes and preferences of women. Based on this story from China Daily, some of these “girly” games are actually very popular among professional women.
“The similarities of the games: lovely images, animals and one round in a short time. The principle of the female game is to go easy on the sex and violence that attract male players.”
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Monday 4.17.06
Chinese Movie Industry Rising
It has been widely acknowledged that the Chinese domestic movie industry has made considerable achievements over the past several years. The development is evidenced not only by more and better quality domestic and co-produced films, but also the increase in the number of Chinese movies exported to other countries. This article from China Radio International provides additional details, together with an audio version of the story.
“In 2005, China produced 260 movies, an increase of one fourth over the previous year. In addition, there have been many domestic-foreign co-productions including Myth and Perhaps Love. And their box office has been almost comparable to that of some imported blockbusters like King Kong.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Wednesday 4.12.06
Shenzhen Creates China’s First 3D Cartoon
All segments of the Chinese media market have been on a fast track of development in the past few years, including the computer animation industry. While this first domestic 3D cartoon introduced in the following article may not be perfect in quality, it certainly demonstrates the growing confidence of Chinese media practitioners. As the industry progresses and grows larger in scale, perhaps American moviegoers will be able to enjoy Chinese made animation films in the near future.
“The 3D feature film is a science-fiction adventure about a boy who travels to another galaxy to rescue his stranded father. The story was originally written by famous French cartoonist Jean Giraud, whose pen name is Moebius.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Monday 4.10.06
Online Game Providers Seek New Way Of Making Profits
Despite the recent exciting growth of the Chinese online gaming industry, some speculators indicate that the size of online gamers might cease to expand soon. Confronted with increasingly severe challenges, Chinese online game providers have started to adopt innovative strategies to attract existing and potential gamers. Based on this article from Sina.com, competition in this industry may escalate to an even more heated extent.
“For players the competition between game providers has just about put them in a win-win position but many are realizing that the freebies come with a cost.”
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Friday 4.07.06
China’s State Broadcast Overseer No Longer to Receive China Central Television Revenues
As the only national TV broadcaster and the largest TV station in the country, China Central Television (CCTV) has been a major revenue generator for its superior authorities in recent years. At present, although all Chinese media organizations are owned by the state, most of them have become financially independent. Based on this news story from China Media Project, the authorities’ intiative to cease receiving revenues from CCTV might suggest a larger extent of media independence in the country.
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Category: Chinese TV
Wednesday 4.05.06
Warner Bros To Build Digital Cinema In China
Perhaps because of an uncertain policy environment, further expansion in the production sector may not be a good strategy for international media operators in China. In turn, some of these media giants have chosen to focus on developing hardware in the media market. Based on the following article from Shanghai Daily, Warner has plans to build more movie theaters in China, including the nation’s first digital multiplex.
“WBIC, the first foreign cinema operator to build multiplex theaters in China, aims to put up 170 screens by 2007 and to expand with six multiplexes yearly.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Sunday 4.02.06
China’s State Broadcast Overseer No Longer to Receive China Central Television Revenues
As the only national TV broadcaster and the largest TV station in the country, China Central Television (CCTV) has been a major revenue generator for its superior authorities in recent years. At present, although all Chinese media organizations are owned by the state, most of them have become financially independent. Based on this news story from China Media Project, the authorities’ intiative to cease receiving revenues from CCTV might suggest a larger extent of media independence in the country.
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Category: Chinese TV
Wednesday 3.29.06
China TV Audiences Soak Up SpongeBob SquarePants To No.1
Despite the ongoing rigid rules and policies on foreign media, an increasing amount of overseas media products have become available on Chinese official media over the past decades. In fact, a lot of them have gained surprising popularity, which demonstrates a great demand for foreign media products in the Chinese market. This following article presents a most recent example of the abundance of opportunities in the Chinese media market.
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Category: Chinese TV
Monday 3.27.06
Ninjas in Pyjamas Invade China
The Chinese online gaming market continues to bring excitement to the world. As a result, investors from around the globe are seeking opportunities to obtain a share in the industry, as well as its related markets. As Asia Times reports, a Swedish company, who claims to be one of the most well-known “e-sports teams” in the world, has recently made initial moves into the Chinese market.
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Tuesday 3.21.06
The Death of a Young Online Game Player
It can sometimes be tragic if one gets too absorbed into a game. The Chinese kid in the following story from Zonaeuropa.com was a game addict who jumped off a high-rise building illusioning himself to be one of the heros in the game he played. The story gives an account of how the kid’s parents have gone through law suits against the game company, motivated by the thought of saving more children from game addiction.
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Monday 3.20.06
Asian Filmmakers Fight Back Vs. Hollywood
Hollywood movies have taken over a considerable amount of film market share around the world and are still expanding their international cloud. To protect their domestic movie industries and cultural integreties, many countries have taken measures to challenge the American movie industry. While such goals may be difficult to accomplish by a single country, this article from Yahoo.com brings up a new idea—assemblilng resources from several different countries to enhance competency.
“As a result, budgets and quality are going up and, in turn, raising the prospect of opening up foreign markets and of even challenging Hollywood in the world entertainment industry.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Friday 3.17.06
Chinese Hack into Lineage
Theft in online games has become an issue of increasing concern, as online games are attracting thousands or even millions of players worldwide. In the cyber world, hackers would “rob” online characters of their valuables and sell them to other players to make a profit. Based on this article from SecurityProNews.com, this problem has escalated to an international extent.
“The real theft part came in as hackers then took over the characters and stripped them down of their virtual equipment, which has actual financial value. In some cases, professional online gamers have been known to bring in six figure salaries on the sale of these types of items.”
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Wednesday 3.15.06
Cisco Places Gaming Bet
We know from one of the previous postings that the American industry leader in networking equipment has acquired a stake in one of China’s major online game providers. Based on the following story from Light Reading Insider, Cisco’s bet is mainly focused on the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) sector. The article also provides additional details and links to relevant company and information web sites.
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Monday 3.13.06
Investment Choices Big Piece of China Puzzle
For years, taking a share in the large market of China has consistently been a hot topic among international investors. Besides the huge potential return on investment, there is considerable risk in the market due to the perceived lack of transparency in political and economic regulations. According to this article from the Chicago Tribune, the most growth opportunities may lie in some of the Chinese companies specializing in the new media.
“Many view China as a golden goose, but no one’s certain who’ll wind up with the golden eggs. The common investment logic is that a nation so big, vibrant and seemingly headed down the road to free enterprise just can’t be overlooked.”
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Wednesday 3.08.06
Chinese, U.S. NGOs Sign Memo To Cooperate In Film Copyright Protection
It is widely known that piracy has been a serious problem in the Chinese media market, which sets considerable negative impact on the profitability of existing and potential media operators in the market. The MPAA has made continuous efforts urging the Chinese authorities to clamp down on bootlegs. The cooperative agreement against piracyshort, as seen in this news article from Sina.com, seems to be a good initial step forward, though its effacacy is yet to be proved.
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Category: Chinese Film
Monday 2.27.06
Networking Giant Cisco Indirectly Acquires Piece Of China’s Biggest Online Game Company Shanda
The development of the Chinese online gaming industry is not just marked by its domestic profitability, but reflected in its international recognition. As some indigenous online game companies are becoming more and more successful, they have attracted the attention from many international investors. Based on this article from Red Herring, this trend of internationalization seems to have been ongoing and is likely to continue.
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Friday 2.24.06
Chinese Audience to Enjoy French Flavour at Film Festival
In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of cultural communication and exchange between China and France. The movie tour described in this article from Sina.com is a typical example of how the French government is promoting its culture in China, and how that is welcomed by Chinese authorities. It could be considered as a sign of China’s willingness to enhance the understanding and appreciation of other cultures through entertainment.
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Category: Chinese Film
Friday 2.17.06
Analysys International Rates China’s IPTV Short-term Investment Value Low
Most telecommunication and media practitioners hold the belief that IPTV has huge potentials in China. But based on a report by Analysys International, the return on investment may not be quite optimistic in the short term. This brief summary from TVover.net has some additional details.
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Category: Chinese TV
Monday 2.13.06
China’s First Scifi TV Series: 天使在线 (Angel Online)
Science fiction has not been a popular genre in domestic TV or film production in China. It could possibly be due to the high costs in creating special effects, as well as the abundance of foreign sci-fi media products already available in the Chinese market. It seems rather curiosity arousing to learn more about the first Chinese science fiction TV series from this following article.
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Friday 2.10.06
Jet Li: Growing Chinese Box Office Will Force Hollywood to Cater to Chinese Tastes
It is true that the box office of the Chinese film industry has been continuously growing in the past few years. According to Jet Li in this story from Sina.com, Hollywood studios would be driven by the demand of this huge market to produce films that meet the preferences of Chinese moviegoers. While his comments seem to make sense to a certain extent, what really concerns Hollywood and other international media corporations at this point, though, appears to be whether government restrictions on the foreign films will be loosened to allow more opportunities for international competition.
“The total Chinese box office in 2004, mainly derived from big cities, was 1.5 billion yuan (US$186 million; €154 million) and the figure is expected to have risen to 2 billion yuan (US$248 million; €205 million) in 2005, according to official statistics.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Monday 2.06.06
China Bans Spielberg’s “Geisha” Film; Enter Pirates
Non-Chinese movies need to be approved by a screening committee at China Film Group in order to be imported into the country. As a result of this censorship as well as a quota system for imported films, only about 20 Hollywood movies are officially released in China every year. This story from Forbes provides a recent example of what Hollywood studios may encounter in the Chinese film market.
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Category: Chinese Film
Monday 2.06.06
China Bans Spielberg’s “Geisha” Film; Enter Pirates
Non-Chinese movies need to be approved by a screening committee at China Film Group in order to be imported into the country. As a result of this censorship as well as a quota system for imported films, only about 20 Hollywood movies are officially released in China every year. This story from Forbes provides a recent example of what Hollywood studios may encounter in the Chinese film market.
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Monday 1.30.06
Linktone Makes Strategic Investment In Game Publisher Ojava
The mobile games market is believed by many to be another profitable niche, particularly given the constantly growing number of cell phone users in China. With the potential opportunities in the market, it would be essential for wireless service providers and game publishers to partner with each other and break new grounds. This story from China Knowledge shows an example of such a cooperation.
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Friday 1.27.06
Market Value Of Online Chinese Games To Reach $1 Billion
There have been some ongoing rumors about the challenges confronting the Chinese online gaming industry with respect to intensifying competition and government intervention. Nonetheless, the online games market as a whole still expands continuously, together with the online population in the country. Based on this short article from Sina.com, the growth in the market value of online games seems to have become an irresistible trend in China.
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Monday 1.23.06
China’s Home-Made Films Bring in More Revenue From Overseas Markets in 2005
It is known to most by now that the Chinese media industry has been growing at an unbelievable speed. This short article from Media Info Center presents some latest statistics related to the development of media in China. Still, what really concerns overseas potiential investors, though, is when the door could open wider for international competitors.
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Category: Chinese Film
Friday 1.20.06
China’s IPTV Clampdown
It looks like the Internet Protocol Televsion (IPTV) will become another state-owned market in China, at least to begin with. Given the consistently applied limitations on private and foreign media ownership, control over the IPTV market wouldn’t be difficult to understand. But based on this article from Telecommunications online, it seems that first movers do have advantages.
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Category: Chinese TV
Wednesday 1.18.06
Siemens To Expand Internet TV Service In China
Many media professionals believe that the Internet protocol television, or IPTV, will be come the next generation of media. The transition from tranditional media to IPTV seems especially obvious in China, where a good number of investors have already placed their bets on this new form of media that combines television and the Internet. Sina.com reports that the world renouned communications solution provider, Siemens, has recently made its initial move in the Chinese market.
“Statistics show that there are 360 million TV viewers and 25 million broadband users in the Chinese mainland, creating a huge potential for development of IPTV services.”
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Friday 1.13.06
Ogre to Slay? Outsource It to Chinese
Along with the booming of the online gaming industry came a new type of profession in China, where people are hired to play online games. Based on this article from AOL, this kind of “factory” makes a profit on the rewards and weapons alike from different games. It’d be a little hard to imagine “playing” games actually becoming a full-time job for 12 hours a day and 7 days a week.
“For the Chinese in game-playing factories like these, though, it is not all fun and games. These workers have strict quotas and are supervised by bosses who equip them with computers, software and Internet connections to thrash online trolls, gnomes and ogres.”
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Wednesday 1.11.06
TV in China
Television has been one of the fastest growing industries in China during recent years. Despite existing restrictions on program content, it is believed by most industry practitioners that the Internet Proctol Television (IPTV) will become the next big wave in television. The following article gives a quite detailed account of the IPTV market conditions in China, including a current player in the market.
“Most citizens in China can access to about 60 channels at home, paying a cable service for a mere 12-18 yuan a month. These include about 15 Central China Television (CCTV) channels, and the rest are from provincial television stations.”
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Category: Chinese TV
Monday 1.09.06
Warner Bros To Build Digital Cinema In China
Perhaps because of an uncertain policy environment, further expansion in the production sector may not be a good strategy for international media operators in China. In turn, some of these media giants have chosen to focus on developing hardware in the media market. Based on the following article from Shanghai Daily, Warner has plans to build more movie theaters in China, including the nation’s first digital multiplex.
“WBIC, the first foreign cinema operator to build multiplex theaters in China, aims to put up 170 screens by 2007 and to expand with six multiplexes yearly.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Friday 1.06.06
Disney To Produce “Magic Gourd” In & For China
To follow up with last week’s posting, this story from Xinhuanet.com provides further details on Disney’s co-production project with China Film. Product localization is considered to be a cost-efficient strategy for multinational corporations, where a certain product is both manufactured and consumed locally. This attempt seems to reflect a longer plan that Disney may have to localize its products in the Chinese media market.
“The cost of the “Magic Gourd” production was not disclosed, but the companies expect to finish main filming early next year and a nationwide theatrical release in China in the second half of 2006. It began shooting in Hangzhou in October.”
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Category: Chinese Film
Wednesday 1.04.06
China’s Gaming Giants Take A Beating
A major on-line gaming company is offering free games for players for the first time, making profits only on in-game items. In a sense, this new business strategy reflects a market with increasingly fierce competition. This article from The Standard further analyzes the “winds of change” currently happening in the country’s on-line gaming industry.
“Many games have been hurt by the intense competition in the industry - there are more than 100 currently massive role playing games in operation in China.”
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Friday 12.16.05
TV in China: The Door Opens a Crack
For years, international media giants have been operating on a limited basis in China, hoping to take the first-mover advantage once the market fully opens. While the Chinese domestic media industry has been developing pretty fast, restrictions on foreign media have not been significantly loosened. As this article from Business Week pointed out, despite the gradually increasing incentives provided by Chinese authorities that were supposedly aiming to encourage international competition, it is still difficult to predict when the foreign media corporations in China will be able to get what they really want - the license to operate independently in an open market.
“Consider a recent step toward reform. Three years ago, Viacom, Star TV, and Turner Broadcasting System (TWX ) were given limited broadcasting rights in Guangdong, the province neighboring Hong Kong. But so far, foreigners have managed to get their programming into just 9 million households as they struggle to seal deals with scores of local cable operators. Worse, no one expects such access to be extended beyond Guangdong anytime soon.”
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Category: Chinese TV
Monday 12.12.05
Huawei, ZTE and UTStarcom Share IPTV Deals
Soon enough, Chinese mobile users will be able to watch television on their cell phones. With the fast expansion of the IPTV market, local and overseas equipment suppliers have engaged in heated competition for business contracts with regional telecommunication companies. This article from Sina.com gives a recent example of the business competition.
“Given the fact that the biggest-ever IPTV deal, for China Netcom’s Beijing branch, will not be revealed until next year, industry analysts expect stiffer competition ahead, noting that there are a score of telecom equipment manufacturers competing in the fledgling IPTV field.”
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Friday 12.09.05
China Launches 3rd Industrial Base For Online Game
The Chinese government has provided a good deal of support to the online gaming industry over the past year through financial investment. At the same time, the authorities have also exercised their power to limit game sessions, which is believed to bring negative effects to the market. Based on this article from Sina.com, the industry seems to be expanding regardless of the barriers.
“More than 200 domestic and overseas software corporations specializing in web games and animation will operate in the zone.”
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Wednesday 12.07.05
China’s Not-So-Jolly Gaming Giants
Online gaming has been known as one of the fastest developing industries in China in the past few years. It appears, though, that major online game companies have recently found themselves in tough waters. This article from Business Week provides further explanation and analysis of the situation involving major players in the market.
“Having to deal with gamers who are no longer jazzed by the latest offering is bad enough. But China’s gaming operators have another kind of fatigue to contend with. The government has been up in arms about reports of game addicts spending their lives online—or worse.”
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Monday 12.05.05
China: Cable TV Companies In The Red
Some speculators were really optimistic when China first announced the opening of its media market to private and foreign investment last year. However, they might not have realized that loosened restrictions on media ownership did not necessarily translate into unrestricted content. As Asia Media reports, private investors in the digital cable TV sector seem to be struggling for their survival.
“The fledgling industry as a whole had signed up only 600,000 fee-paying subscribers as of June this year - a far cry from the eight million subscribers it needs to make a profit.”
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Wednesday 11.30.05
Chinese Film Industry Beset With Opening Or Protection
The Chinese film market has been gradually opening up, following a pace that is a bit too slow to the liking of some desperate international media organizations who have been eyeing for China during the past decade. The rationale behind such a gradual opening strategy seems to be two-fold: ideological control and protection of the domestic film industry. This article from Sina.com further explains the situation from the perspective of protection.
“Hollywood watchers even estimated that China may become the second largest film market in the world, topping Europe and Japan,where annual box-office taking stands at 4.4 billion US dollars and 1.6 billion US dollars respectively.”
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Monday 11.28.05
“Chinawood” Beckons
China’s own Hollywood in a small mountain town, has grown into a successful base for the TV and film industry.
As permissions for TV and film shootings in real historic settings have become growingly difficult in China, a number of replicas have been built in recent years to meet the demands of TV and film production. Over time, these TV and film shooting “bases” have been utilized for a great number of television and film projects, with some also developing into local tourist attractions. This story from Beijing Review shows an example of a “Chinese Hollywood” taking its shape.
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Monday 11.21.05
Foreign Movies Make First Appearance At China’s Film Festival
Relatively few exchange programs have taken place in the past between Chinese filmmakers and their counterparts worldwide. This film festival in a southern Chinese city provided such an opportunity for both professionals and movie fans to expose themselves to films set in different cultural backgrounds. According to this article from Sina.com, international participants of the festival were also excited about the possibility of exploring market potentials in China.
Many foreign film makers regard China’s movie market as a “diamond mine”. Some foreign film firms such as Warner Brothers Inc. have cooperated with Chinese companies to launch cinemas in Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian, Wuhan and other Chinese cities as China loosens control on foreign funds flowing into film screening industry in the country.
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Friday 11.18.05
Expert: China film box office revenue may exceed $250 million
Only less than 50 foreign movies are released in China due to a quota system enforced by the country’s media regulators. The revenues from a limited number of international movies, along with a couple of successful domestic movies, may seem insignificant from a Hollywood perspective. Nontheless, as shown in this report from Xinhuanet.com, the development of the Chinese movie market is promising.
An array of Hollywood blockbusters, including “Star Wars Episode III,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “ The Legend of Zorro,” have got favorable box office results in China, but two home-made hits,"The Promise” directed by Chen Kaige and “Qian Li Zou Dan Ji” by Zhang Yimou, will challenge their American counterparts at the yearend, Wang said.]
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Wednesday 11.16.05
All Eyes On Online Gaming Results
It is widely known that the Chinese online gaming market has achieved tremendous growth in the past few years. Within this context, online game companies in China would also need to watch closely the changes of industry regulations and the subsequent effects on their business strategies. This article from Investors.com provides a most recent update of the major players in the online gaming industry in China.
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Monday 11.14.05
Gaga Takes Distrib Rights To ‘The Banquet’
As an increasing number of Chinese movies are gaining international recognition, distributing these movies on a global basis may soon become a trend amonginternational distributors. In fact, some global media companies have already signed distribution agreements with Chinese film producers. In this short report from The Hollywood reporter, a Japanese distribution company just made such a move.
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Friday 11.11.05
Chinese Films Pirated In US
Copyright infringement issues apply to not only international media products being used in China, but also the other way around. According to this article from Sina.com, some Chinese media products are also being pirated in the United States. It seems that piracy has really become a worldwide problem.
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Wednesday 11.09.05
China: Rigid Rules Blocking Pay-TV Investment
The regulatory environment of the media industry in China has always been a major concern among international investors with much hope and interest in expanding their China operations. In the case of pay-TV, the situation seems rather complicated because one interest group in the government is involved in cable TV, while another supports IPTV (Internet Protocol Television). Based on this news story from Asia Media, the future of this industry sector still seems unpredictable at this time:
The mainland pay-television market has split into two categories recently - cable television and internet-based television.
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Monday 11.07.05
China: Western Companies Under Fire Over Media
International scholars and media professionals have been engaged in various debates over China’s freedom of speech. While some criticize the country’s continuous tight control over media, others argue that different countries should have different definitions of media freedom. However, as shown in this article from Asia Media, such a political controversy may become less of an issue when it comes to economic incentives. Continue...
While Western governments are increasingly critical of media and other curbs to freedom in China, their companies have been accused of looking the other way as they attempt to penetrate the lucrative market of the world’s most populous nation.
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Friday 10.28.05
It’s a Whole New Game
Chinese online game companies are not only competing with international game providers, but are cooperating with some of them. For one thing, the market size is probably the single most appealing factor to many international investors. However, as China Daily illustrates, existing and potential investors may also be exposed to risk and challenges rooted from such issues as piracy or government regulations.
The overwhelming majority of game titles on the
Chinese mainland in 2001 came from South Korea and
Taiwan or other markets, but domestic games accounted
for more than half the domestic market last year.
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Wednesday 10.26.05
South Korean TV Drama Sparks Boom in China
An increasing number of international TV shows and films have gained popularity over the past decade in China, despite the existing control and censorship system for imported media products. This TV drama from South Korea stands out as one of the most successful TV dramas on the Chinese TV screen in recent years. But according to Xinhuanet.com, there are concerns over an imminent South Korean domination in Chinese pop culture.
Others have expressed that the “cultural mecca” of China’s Y Generation is now Seoul. It has replaced Europe and the United States as a place of inspiration.
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Monday 10.24.05
Chinese Film Official Says Censorship System Will Change
Following the recent announcement of tightened control over foreign media ownership, Chinese authorities have now started to give hope to potential investors in the media industry. As is true with most cases of market liberalization, the dynamics between progress and control seem to be always ongoing. While the authorities’ determination to improve the current film censorship structure is reiterated in this article from CNN.com, no timelines are specified at this point.
“The mainland typically allows in only about two dozen foreign films a year, and the movies are often delayed by a lengthy censorship process. Chinese authorities also keep tight watch on Internet content.”
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Sunday 10.16.05
Report on Chinese Digital Television Industry Development 2005
China’s DTV market is predicted by many industry speculators to become one of the world’s largest in the upcoming years. The development of this industry may bring great opportunities for related parties such as content producers, facility providers, and TV set manufacturers. The executive summary from this report on Analysys.com contains a brief description of the current DTV market environment in China, along with sensible suggestions for both industry practitioners and regulators.
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Wednesday 10.12.05
Digital China: Television Market May Blossom
Over the past few years, China has become one of the world’s top suppliers of digital hardware. Meanwhile, the country’s domestic DTV market is showing a tendency of rapid expansion. However, this article from Reed Electronic News indicated that the development in hardware supplies would not necessarily translate into the overall DTV growth, as content is another essetial factor.
“China is to some extent getting digitized along with the rest of the television world, however. eMarketer estimates that among the leading countries in the Asia/Pacific region, by the end of this year there will be approximately 30 million households accessing digital TV via cable, satellite or terrestrial signals at the end of 2005. This will rise to nearly 170 million households by 2010, according to the market research firm.”
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Monday 10.10.05
Enter The Conglomerates: Hong Kong Cinema Does The Hollywood Hustle
The movie industry in Hong Kong is relatively independent of the resctrictions in Mainland China, while at the same time it has also been deeply affected by the conditions and policies that apply to the other parts of the country. After a period of inactivity in the late 90s, Hong Kong movies are again displaying international competence, as evidenced by Kung Fu Hustle’s success in the U.S. The following article from MR Zine shows a full picture with an emphasis on filmmakers’efforts concerns and future directions.
“Hong Kong-Hollywood (or Asian-Hollywood) crossover potential remains an open question; some recent co-productions, absent big names like Chan, Chow, Li, and Yeoh that western audiences now recognize, did not get widespread release. Further, Hollywood studios hold onto Hong Kong successes for which they buy distribution rights—to the films’ detriment.”
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Monday 10.10.05
Chinese Movie Industry Seeks Way Out
Despite some recently produced Chinese movies that have gained considerable international recognition and box office success, the Chinese movie industry is in great need of revitalization, according to this article from Xinhuanet.com. Written in Chinese-style English, the article points out some major issues that keep the industry from faster development. It somehow gives you a basic understanding of the concerns about the Chinese movie industry.
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Friday 10.07.05
China Gets Tougher on Foreign Media
The Chinese authorities seem to have become increasingly sensitive about foreign media operations in the country over the past several months. While no speculators have provided any perfect explanations to the rantionale behind such withdrawal almost immediately after the loosening of restrictions by the end of last year, this article from Yahoo.com tells the story of how one of the major global media leaders, Disney, reacts to the situation. The last paragraph of this story seems to be a typical reflection of the frustration these media giants are currently experiencing in the Chinese market.
“Last year, prospects looked good when China moved toward loosening rules on foreign media investments. But in recent months, Liu and other leaders of the Chinese government have clamped down on foreigners’ participation in China’s burgeoning media industry, declaring last month that they wouldn’t allow more foreign television channels and would tighten their grip on the 31 satellite broadcasters in China.”
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Category: Chinese Gaming
Wednesday 10.05.05
“Anti-Japan War Online” Game to Hit the Market
Following one of the previous postings about the Chinese government partnering with online game publishers to create “patriotic” games, here is an example of such a co-effort.The game was developed in an attempt to educate the young players about an important part of their own history. As Xinhuanet.com reports, this type of cooperation is quite likely to become a continuous endeavor.
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Sunday 9.25.05
Mouse Zedong? Disney Opens Its Gates In Hong Kong
Mickey Mouse finally set his foot on the land of China, as Hong Kong Disneyland opened to public this Monday. As suggested by this article from the Guardian Unlimited, it is considered a perfect meeting between the Western and Chinese ideologies. With great expectations placed on the profitability of this largest amusement park in China, there were doubts about the return on investment, along with concerns about U.S. cultural invasion.
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Thursday 9.22.05
Disney Takes Exception to China’s Media Rules
With the grand opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney has made one major step into the Chinese media market. However, the company is not planning to open another resort in mainland China before Disney characters and programs have a better chance to appear on Chinese television. This article from the New York Times may give you some thoughts on Disney’s current situation and future strategies in the greater China region.
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Wednesday 9.21.05
China’s Shanda & Government Team Up For Patriotic Online Games
Following a previous posting about government funding in China’s online gaming industry, it seems that the investment from the government serves multiple purposes. Other than monetary compensations, Chinese authorities also try to infuse ideological elements to online games in cooperation with major companies. Based on this news story from Forbes.com, new games are being developed which will have a revolutionary theme with national heroes and their stories.
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Wednesday 9.14.05
China Changing Channels
As seen in a previous posting, “Super Voice Girls,” or the Chinese version of “American Idol,” has been the hottest TV show in China over the past year. With its widespread popularity and skyrocketing advertising revenues, the show’s impact is deep enough to upset the national broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), who has been a monopoly in the Chinese TV market with government funding and other privileges. The Hollywood Reporter has an in-depth report about the structure of the TV industry in China with a detailed introduction of CCTV.
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Thursday 9.08.05
Star TV Falls Back Down To Earth In China
Murdoch’s News Corporation has been one of the most active in the Chinese media market among all global media leaders. But there are always bumps on the road, as one of the company’s most hopeful projects in China was aborted due to the government’s recent policy of tightened control over foreign media. Following last week’s posting, this article from FT.com offers further details and background stories related to News Corporation’s endeavors in China.
“It would be hugely difficult for Beijing to halt reform completely. The digitalisation of China’s TV network is set to create huge demand for content that local companies will struggle to meet alone. And many influential state-controlled companies yearn for the chance to win foreign investors and set up joint ventures with industry leaders.”
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Tuesday 9.06.05
China Imposing Limits On Online Play Sessions
Game addiction has become an increasingly serious social problem among the estimated 25 million regular online game players in China. Rather than taking softer measures to try to reduce individual gamers’ time spent online, the government authorities decided to do it in the hard way—setting time limits on players’ online sessions. Based on this article from Business Week, the government is working with game publishers to launch an anti-addiction program which technically imposes online “curfews.”
“The character’s in-game abilities would be cut in half after the three-hour mark and reduced to the lowest possible level after five hours of play. If a person keeps playing past the five-hour mark, a warning will pop up every 15 minutes saying, ‘You have entered unhealthy game time, please go offline immediately to rest. If you do not your health will be damaged and the benefits you can win will be cut to zero.’”
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Tuesday 9.06.05
Chinese Government Investing $1.8 Billion In Online Gaming
To add to the current heat of the online gaming industry, the Chinese government will provide capital to fund the development of video games and the establishment of online game companies in the next few years. Games Daily Biz reports that the investment from the government aims to enhance worldwide competitiveness of the entire industry. The monetary support from the government definitely presents exciting opportunities for new and existing online game companies in China.
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Tuesday 8.30.05
China Bans Foreign Investment In Publishing, News Organizations
China.com has a story that provides further details and analysis regarding the recently imposed retrictions on foreign media’s activities in China. To many media professionals, this is not a surprise because the government authorities don’t seem to have ever officially allowed foreign operations of Chinese news organizations anyway. The “new” policy, though, may imply stricter enforcement of the existing rules and regulations.
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Monday 8.29.05
Murdoch Shelves News Corp. China TV Ambitions
China’s recent move to tighten media control has, to a certain extent, affected the level of confidence global media companies have in the market. Some more experienced media practitioners say that there’s nothing new about such policy changes, as the media market in China has always been regulated. But this article from Forbes.com seems to cast some doubt on international media firms’ future in China.
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Tuesday 8.23.05
Media Regulation In China: Closed Open Closed Open For Business…
China’s recent notification of new regulations related to private financial sources in cultural industries is considered by some to have negative implications on foreign media operations and products in the country. According to the analysis in this article from Danwei.org, however, it is really a reiteration of the existing rules. For your reference, the article also lists the key points of the Chinese State Council’s resolutions.
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Monday 8.22.05
China Tightens Foreign TV Channels
For any regulated market to open up, there is a constant battle between control and autonomy. Such is the case for the Chinese media market, as the government authorities still seem to be reluctant to grant further rights to foreign media operators at this time. Despite the official announcement last year to allow foreign ownership in media production, this article from CNN.com suggests that relevant authorities in China are exercising control over the pace of the opening process of the media market.
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Friday 8.19.05
“Super Voice Girls” Challenges China’s TV Culture
If you ask people in China what they like on TV nowadays, nine out of ten would probably tell you “Chaoji Nusheng,” or “Super Voice Girls.” This Chinese
version of “American Idol” is gaining so much momentum over the past few months that it has aroused a considerable amount of controversy and debate among related autorities and intellectuals over whether the genre sets a positive impact on society and offers good guidance to the youngsters. This article from Sina.com has detailed descriptions of the heat of the show, together with the enthusiasm from the audience.
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Monday 8.01.05
China: U.S. companies confident patience will pay off
After about a decade of initial involvement in China, major Western media companies were finally granted the opportunity to partner with local companies in content production on a limited ownership basis. Looking forward, these companies’ operations in the Chinese media market will still be highly contingent upon government policies and regulations, general economic conditions, and how well they can learn the ways of doing business in China. But based on this article from The Hollywood Reporter, these Western media giants seem to be truly committed to the Chinese media market with carefully planned long-term business
strategies.
“They continue their push into China with new partnerships and ventures taking shape on a regular basis, but the majors realize that it might be 20 or even 30 years before they can reap the full benefits of these exploratory ventures.”
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Friday 7.22.05
Alcatel’s Chinese IPTV Coup
Soon after the government authorities granted IPTV license to the Shanghai Media Group (SMG), this French telecommunication and Internet service provider joined in with the Chinese media giant. According to Light Reading, the newly established joint venture is already making initial moves despite some existing skepticism about the profitability of China’s IPTV market. Additional details and links are provided in this article for further information.
“China has nearly 330 million fixed lines and, with 30 million broadband subscribers, the broadband uptake is growing fast. And while SARFT has issued only one license, the major carriers are running trials and testing services and technology with a view to gaining full regulatory approval.”
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Wednesday 7.20.05
China: Out from the Shadows
Since China’s media market is not yet an open market, censorship doesn’t seem to be a rare term in this industry that has long been closely supervised by government authorities. But with the trend of the entire movie industry gradually opening for international competition, the rules have started to loosen. Business Week has an interesting story about this change based on the true experience of a Chinese movie director whose recent movie was greenlighted for the first time in his career.
“With Chinese cinema under siege from Hollywood offerings and rampant DVD piracy, Beijing’s film authorities have decided to start letting directors decide what movies to make, says Wang. But he doesn’t expect rapid change.”
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Friday 7.15.05
Chinese Film to Vie for Best Foreign Film at Oscars
As a greater number of high quality movies are being produced in China, Chinese filmmakers are eyeing bigger stages for increased international recognition. Xinhua News reports that a new Chinese movie will try its luck at next year’s Academy Awards. Set in Tibet, the movie has already received enthusiastic responses from the audience and is considered a masterpiece by film critics.
“Directed by Lu Chuan, ¡°Keke Xili¡± is a documentray-style story about saving and protecting the Tibetan antelope, also called the Chiru. Most of the cast members were local Tibetan people.”
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Wednesday 7.13.05
China’s Internet Players Step up to Battle U.S. Giants
The Chinese Internet industry is developing so fast that some major players are posing challenges to their U.S. competitors. Some say that the visions and ambitions of these Chinese domestic Internet companies may be inspired by China’s recent acquisitions of U.S. business entities in the oil and banking industries. The story below from Investors.com provides a full picture of this confrontation, with specific mentions of the online gaming industry.
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Tuesday 7.12.05
Hollywood Movie Studios See the Chinese Film Market as Their Next Rising Star
Following the government’s loosened restrictions on television and film production last year, China is becoming a real attraction to Hollywood studios. Although most of these media giants have established a presence in China over the past decade, this seems to be the first time for them to consider serious investments in the Chinese media market. From this article in The New York Times, you will be able to catch a glimpse of how some fresh Chinese flavors and elements are being incorporated with the traditions of Hollywood.
“China’s box office receipts are still small compared with ticket sales in the United States, where box office revenues were a record $9.4 billion in 2004, according to Exhibitor Relations. But analysts here say affluent Chinese are becoming avid movie-goers, particularly in big cities like Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. The domestic market is expected to grow to $1.2 billion by 2007, from about $500 million in 2004, according to China E-Capital, a private investment bank in Beijing.”
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Monday 7.11.05
Battling Online Gaming Addictions in China
If there are side effects associated with the booming online gaming industry in China, gaming additions would be one of the most serious. With the growing popularity of online games comes an increasing number of young adults in China who are clinically obsessed with the cyber world. Game Daily Biz reports how this problem is being addressed in China.
“To help combat this problem, the first officially
government licensed clinic of Internet/online gaming
addictions has opened its doors...”
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Thursday 7.07.05
Shanghai Online Games Publisher Seeks Strategic Investor
We have been feeding you with the lastest devlopment of the rapidly growing online gaming industry in China. The following posting provides the information of a major player in the market who is seeking investment partners. If you are seriously considering the possibility of becoming financially involved in this market, you may find it helpful.
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Wednesday 7.06.05
Tapping Into China’s Online Gamers
The exciting potentials of China’s online gaming industry have attracted game makers and investors from all over the world. This BBC news article tells a story about the amazing development of the online gaming market in China. Aside from the optimism, it also reveals such problematic issues as piracy and government restrictions.
“An estimated 22.8 million people play online games according to figures from 2004, spending almost US$500m on their favourite past time.”
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Saturday 7.02.05
Shanghai Int’l Film Festival Announces Winners
As a clear symbol of China’s media industry opening up to the world, Shanghai International Film Festival has been gaining increased recognition over the past eight years. What’s worth noting is that this year is the first time for the festival to pay particular tribute to international filmmakers. Take a look and you may be able to find some familiar names from the list of winners in this article at Sina.com.
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Sunday 6.26.05
Shanghai Opens Doors To World Of Film, Television
In the process of the country's economic development and opening up to the outside world, several media related annual events have emerged over the past decade in China. These events, usually in the name of television or film festivals, serve as a platform for domestic and international media professionals to exchange views and carry out trading negotiations, as well as for the public to gain increased awareness of various media products in the market. According toSina.com, the recent Shanghai International Film Festival has been quite eventful.
"China may be slowly moving towards loosening its rules to allow additional foreign films into the country but as things stand now, the most expedient avenue for foreign companies to enter the market is through co-productions."
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Wednesday 6.22.05
Intel Corp to enter China’s IPTV Market With
It’s not been long since Shanghai Media Group (SMG)gained the country’s first IPTV licenses in April issued by the State Administration of Radio, Television and Film (SARFT). Based on this story from Forbes.com, as one of the major Chinese media giants, SMG is already in serious negotiations with big foreign investors for opportunities of coopoeration. With the expertise from the largest chip maker in the world, technologically advanced solutions will be adopted in media content production.
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Tuesday 6.21.05
What’s On The Computer
So the heat of IPTV in China is ongoing, with some optimistic forecasters claiming that it will be evaluated in billions of US dollars by 2008. Some analysts, however, expressed concerns and more reserved estimates due to the unpredictable regulatory environment and rivalries between broadcasters and telecom operators that hamper further development of
the IPTV market. According to this article from China Daily, efforts in various respects still need to be made before this industry can truly take off.
“The analyst predicts China’s IPTV market will be worth 300 million yuan (US$36.2 million) this year, and might grow to 1.67 billion yuan (US$201 million) by 2009.”
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Sunday 6.19.05
China’s Huayi Bros. Thinking Big
While the present day Chinese media market seems to offer an awful lot of exciting opportunities for investors, it may not be as easy as what you can imagine to survive in the market. The Hollywood Reporter has a story about an indigenous Chinese media company who partnered with Sony to co-produce the movie “Kung Fu Hustle.” Though still operating in a fashion that resembles a Hollywood studio in its early days, the company has already come a long way to reach its current scale and is striving for more ambitious goals.
“Since its founding in 1994, Wang and his brother Wang Zhonglei have grown Huayi Brothers Media Group from a small advertising firm into a burgeoning conglomerate in a media marketplace complicated by censorship, plagued by piracy, and all too often hampered by a lack of investment capital.”
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Wednesday 6.15.05
World Of Warcraft Open For Business In China
In the fantasy world of computer games, an internationally acclaimed multi-player game will become available to Chinese online gamers. As reported by Gamespot.com, Blizzard Entertainment, the owner of the game, will work together with a Shanghai-based game operator in China to launch this game. Though the initial costs for this operation were quite high, the long-term gains are expected to be large.
“Chinese gamers have yet to show a sustained interest in 3D gaming, preferring instead the worlds of 2D gaming.”
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