Jack Ma
Alibaba founder Jack Ma is set to meet and make deals with the executives of major studios in Hollywood, including Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox, Los Angeles Times reported.
With Alibaba dominating online retailing in China with a record-breaking $22 billion public stock offering recently, Ma wants to expand the company's entertainment holdings that include a stake in online video portal Youku Tudou, which already shows Hollywood movies and TV shows.
Accompanied by a group of Alibaba executives, Ma is planning to stream Hollywood films online in China. He is meeting with the studio executives to get the rights to content to sell American films to Chinese consumers, Bloomberg reported.
While it is the second top film market in the world next to the United States, China is not a straightforward country to do business.
In September, it was announced that Chinese regulators would limit the amount of TV shows local providers could stream to online subscribers. Among the TV shows that millions of Chinese viewers watch but will be affected by the new regulation is Neftlix's "House of Cards."
In the same month, Alibaba has approximately $16 billion in cash, making its market value five times greater than that of General Motors.
Earlier this year, Chinese regulators prohibited several American series from being streamed online in China without providing explanation. The series included "NCIS," "The Practice," "The Good Wife" and "The Big Bang Theory," which reportedly had 120 million monthly viewers.
If Ma successfully makes pacts with Hollywood studios, more of their content would be viewed legally in China.
Producer Rob Cain explained that, theoretically, there is no limit to the number of Hollywood movies and shows that can be distributed online.
"Studios are already doing business that way in China. But the difference here is Jack Ma. He's a big player with a lot of money," said Cain, who is also a veteran studio consultant in China.
