Tencent aims to hook more online gamers, viewers with TV tie-ups
To hook more users to play Honour of Kings, watch its dramas and variety shows, Tencent has been teaming up with China’s biggest TV makers
Tencent Holdings, the largest social network operator in China, aims to expand coverage of its content products, such as videos and games, from mobile devices to television screens after teaming up with China’s major TV manufacturers.
FFalcon will create a new smart TV environment that combines integrated online and offline channels, hardware products, internet contents to host the massive copyrighted content from Tencent, according to Guo.
Customised games by Tencent, sales from online application store and membership fees are expected to become major sources of income for FFalcon.
Due to the fundamental difference in format between smart TV, personal computers and mobile devices, Guo said it was unrealistic to migrate Tencent’s popular personal computer and mobile games, such as the Honour of Kings, to TV terminals directly.
While Tencent claims TCL as a long-term partner, the Chinese technology giant that owns the popular social network WeChat only had a department head attend their cooperation's event in Shenzhen on Wednesday. This is in stark constrast with the TCL lineup, which included the chief executive and chief financial officer of TCL Multimedia and FFalcon’s chief executive.
As a content producer, Zhao stressed that “Tencent will never step into hardware production”.
Tencent and TCL will also establish a joint operations team.
In another strategic investment last month, Tencent invested 300 million yuan for a 7.71 per cent stake in Coocaa, the smart TV unit of Chinese TV maker Skyworth Digital Holdings, in a deal that valued the company at 4 billion yuan.
Skyworth is one of TCL’s key competitors in the mainland's vast TV market.
Data from China Market Monitor indicated that TCL had a 13.6 per cent market share for liquid crystal display television sets in the first quarter of 2017, making the company the mainland's third-largest TV supplier behind Skyworth’s 14.5 per cent share.
Guo said FFalcon Technology was also open to cooperation with other internet companies.