PCCW, Yoshimoto in Joint Venture
Multichannel News International
8/8/2001 11:09:00 AM
HONG KONG (Kyodo via NewsEdge Corporation - Aug. 6) -- Pacific Century CyberWorks Japan Co. Ltd. (PCCW Japan) said Monday it will form a joint venture with Japanese entertainment giant Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. to promote and develop entertainment content for distribution in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.
PCCW Japan is an independently operated subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Pacific Century CyberWorks, the territory's leading telecommunications and multimedia services firm, while Yoshimoto Kogyo is Japan's largest entertainment television content and talent management company.
Under the deal, PCCW Japan will invest in NUX Inc., which is controlled by Yoshimoto and is a dominant player in the extreme sports industry that involves outdoor sports such as snowboarding, speed sailing and mountain biking.
Through NUX, the two companies will jointly hold extreme sports distribution rights, manage athletes and operate extreme sports events regionally, PCCW Japan said in a statement.
The partnership will kick off at Japan's ''CoreXtreme Summer Games'' to be held from Friday to Sunday in Yokohama, the statement said.
PCCW Japan and Yoshimoto have also agreed to jointly develop multi-platform, multi-language content in variety, music and game shows, as well as dramas, the statement said.
''We believe there is huge potential demand for content in Asia and that this joint venture with PCCW Japan will strategically place our content before an even larger audience,'' Hiroaki Hayashi, Yoshimoto's chief executive officer, was quoted as saying.
The joint venture's content will be distributed in Japan and other Asian countries through PCCW Japan and the network of its group companies in gaming platforms, interactive satellite television services, as well as wireless and other traditional media.
''We view this partnership as an important addition to our content aggregation business for the Asia-Pacific region,'' said Todd Bonner, PCCW Japan's chief executive officer.
The Osaka-based Yoshimoto Kogyo produces more than 2,500 hours of television programs a year and manages more than 700 entertainment, sports and music personalities in Japan.
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