PCCW and China Network Communications Group (Netcom) are planning a joint venture that will supply programming to providers of internet-protocol television (IPTV) services, a senior executive at the mainland company says.
No investment amount was mentioned, although PCCW's initial contribution to the pilot project would be small.
Mainland media reports earlier this week quoted Netcom officials as saying a joint venture would be set up within six to 12 months.
The project will be the first since Netcom announced last month it was buying 20 per cent of PCCW's enlarged share capital for $7.9 billion in cash. The fixed-line operator has earmarked $5 billion of that for mainland investment.
The content joint venture would target Netcom's broadband subscribers, although it would offer services to China Telecom's customers as well. Norson Telecom Consulting puts the IPTV market at three million subscribers this year, rising to 12 million by 2009.
There had been previous speculation that PCCW would be more closely involved in the management of Netcom's broadband network, but the mainland executive discounted the idea yesterday.
'We have the network and we know how to operate it. What we think we're not good at is packaging content,' he said.
