iWorld
China Telecom seeks foreign strategic partner
MUMBAI: China Telecom is in search of an international strategic partner. The Hong Kong-listed unit of China’s biggest fixed-line operator, through such an alliance, aims to raise its profile in global telecommunications.
China Telecom chairman Wang Xiaochu said the company would eventually seek to bring in foreign strategic investors, to benefit from international management experience. According to Wang, the company hasn’t initiatied any formal talks with potential investor or partner.
In April this year, the state-run parent of China Netcom Group, China Telecom’s biggest domestic rival, bought a 20 per cent stake in PCCW. PCCW Limited is the largest communications provider in Hong Kong and one of Asia’s leading IT&T players.
According to Wang, the company expects broadband, mobile and fixed-line operations to each contribute a third of its revenue by that time. Wang made the comments after the company’s annual general meeting in Hong Kong, the first one it has held in the territory and a rarity among H-share companies.
China Telecom currently doesn’t have any mobile services, but it offers a localized wireless service known as Personal Handyphone System, or Xiaolingtong. Internet services, mainly broadband, contributed 9 per cent of the company’s total revenue in 2004. Local telephone services, including fixed-line, phone booths and Xiaolingtong, took up half of total revenue.
Wang expects broadband subscriber growth this year to exceed last year’s, when new additions reached 6.6 million. At the end of March, China Telecom had 15.7 million broadband customers.
Wang said the company’s Internet Protocol Television service, which began a trial run late last year, has about 40,000 users. The service is now available in Shanghai and several main cities in Guangdong province.
iWorld
Banijay Asia’s The 50 tops OTT charts with 8.1 million JioHotstar views
Reality competition becomes most watched show on JioHotstar in debut week.
MUMBAI: Fifty contestants walked into a palace, but millions of viewers showed up for the drama. Reality competition The 50, produced by Banijay Asia, has emerged as the most watched show on JioHotstar, clocking 8.1 million views in its debut week. The figure, reported by Ormax Media, places the show at the top of the OTT viewership charts and marks a strong opening for the digital reality format.
Adapted from a popular French format, The 50 brings together 50 personalities from television, digital platforms, music and reality shows inside a grand palace setting. Over the course of a 50 day competition, participants form alliances, compete in unpredictable tasks and navigate eliminations as the field steadily narrows.
Guiding the game is a mysterious figure known as The Lion, an unseen game master whose voice introduces twists, challenges and strategic turns throughout the show, adding an extra layer of suspense to the contest.
What distinguishes The 50 from typical reality competitions is its audience driven prize structure. Instead of the winner taking home the final reward, the prize is awarded to one of the winner’s registered followers through the show’s dedicated app. The mechanism effectively turns viewers into participants, allowing fans to have a direct stake in the outcome.
The contestant lineup features a mix of television actors, reality stars and digital creators, including Karan Patel, Urvashi Dholakia, Divya Agarwal, Mr Faisu and Dushyant Kukreja, each bringing their own fan following to the show.
With its blend of celebrity personalities, strategic gameplay and interactive viewer participation, The 50 has quickly carved out a strong foothold in India’s digital entertainment landscape. Its 8.1 million views in the opening week underline the growing appetite for large scale reality formats designed specifically for OTT audiences.
