The venture,
which will have a registered capital of $4 million, will be 51
percent-owned by China's BesTV, with Disney's unit TWDC Shanghai
Enterprises LLC taking the rest, the companies said in separate
statements.
China's entertainment and media market is expected to grow to
$148 billion by 2015 from around $120 billion in 2013, according
to PricewaterhouseCoopers' outlook for the global entertainment
and media business 2011-2015.
"The China digital landscape and industry is expanding and
changing exponentially," Stanley Cheung, Disney's managing
director in Greater China, said in a statement. He said the
joint venture with BesTV aimed to serve Chinese consumers across
multiple platforms.
The joint venture aims to provide family entertainment using
both companies' technical and marketing expertise, Disney said.
BesTV, the digital media unit of the Shanghai Media Group, plans
to invest around $8 million to develop content and marketing, it
said.
BesTV said it has the largest new media outlets in China,
including smart phones, mobile TV and online streaming.
Earlier this year, the Chinese Internet TV firm also formed a
joint venture with Microsoft Corp with a registered capital of
$79 million to focus on family games and entertainment.
