Alibaba invests in DreamWorks co-founder’s venture to create short videos for smartphones

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Jeffrey Katzenberg, former chief executive officer of DreamWorks Animation and former chairman of Walt Disney Studios, at the Sun Valley Resort for the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. Katzenberg has raised $1 billion in initial funding for his NewTV start-up seeking to tailor television to smartphone lifestyles, pulling in Hollywood's biggest studios. Disney, 21st Century Fox, MGM, Sony Pictures and Warner are among the investors in NewTV, a working name for the new company, Katzenberg's WndrCo company announced on August 7, 2018. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:10pm, 8 Aug 2018Updated: 10:50pm, 8 Aug 2018

Alibaba Group Holding has joined a stellar list of Hollywood studios in a venture headed by DreamWorks SKG’s co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg to create original programmes for smartphones, deepening the group’s forays into developing content for the fastest-growing digital medium.

Katzenberg, the former Walt Disney Studios chairman credited with reinvigorating the company’s live action and animation divisions, raised US$1 billion for his NewTV venture this week. Alibaba took part as a technology investor in the fundraising by the Los Angeles-based company, led by former Hewlett Packard chief executive Meg Whitman as CEO, according to a statement by Katzenberg’s holding company WndrCo, without divulging the invested amount.

“We are thrilled to partner with Jeffrey and Meg to explore the future of entertainment on mobile platforms,” said Joe Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba and chairman of the South China Morning Post. Alibaba owns the Post.

Katzenberg - the “K” in DreamWorks SKG - has often been credited with helping to revive animated features, with box office successes in franchises including Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and How to Train Your Dragon. His decade-long tenure as Disney Studio’s chairman also coincided with animation hits such as The Lion King, and Aladdin.

The creators of DreamWorks SKG -- Jeffrey Katzenberg (L), Steven Spielberg (C) and David Geffen (R) -- in Los Angeles on December 13, 1998. Photo: REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File

For Alibaba, the NewTV investment is an extension of its Hollywood relationships, where it already owns a stake in Amblin Partners venture established by Steven Spielberg, the “S” in DreamWorks SKG.