Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent have invested in television show producer Shanghai Canxing Culture & Broadcast Co., in a funding round worth RMB 360 million ($53 million), according to local media.
Tencentโs investment of RMB 160 million was made through its subsidiary, Tibet Qiming Music, while Alibabaโs contribution totaled RMB200 million. The companies hold 0.94% and 1.17% of Canxingโs shares respectively
Canxing initially raised RMB 21 billion in its Round A in December 2017, with the expectation that the company would file for a listing at some point in 2018. The company is the former producer of the popular TV show โVoice of China,โ among others. It has created over 20 shows in China, which focus on music and dance. Additionally, the company owns a record label with over 120 artists.
However, Canxing has been embroiled in trademark disputes with the creator of its popular singing show when the company was preparing for the fifth season of โVoice of China.โ Later, another television show producer, Zhejiang Talent Television & Film Co. Ltd., bought โThe Voice of Chinaโ brand along with related IP.
Both Tencent and Alibaba have good reason to invest in Canxing: content. The tech giants will likely incorporate the companyโs output into their platforms.
Interestingly, this is not the first time the two rivals have co-invested in individual companies. In early July both firms bought stakes in state-backed media company China Media Capital (CMC). This was followed by talk of the companiesโ intentions to invest in advertising firm WPPโs Chinese unit.
