News Broadcasting
Tom Online Inc. buys wireless entertainment firm Infomax
MUMBAI: China’s wireless internet company Tom Online Inc is acquiring a wireless entertainment company Infomax with the maximum valuation capped at approximately $75 million.
Through the acquisition, Tom Online will gain access to Infomax’s extensive TV distribution network which reaches out to millions of Chinese households. This acquisition is expected to further strengthen Tom Online’s leadership in China’s wireless Internet market.
Following the acquisition, significant synergies between Infomax and Tom Online are expected to be created in the coming years. Tom Online has proven and pioneered the integration of TV and wireless media as a new way to inform and entertain Chinese consumers with the purchase of Treasure Base in 2004. By combining Tom Online’s own industry leading service platform with Infomax’s strong TV operator relationships and experience, the company believes the acquisition of Infomax will produce yet more benefits in the areas of product diversification, operational efficiency and content sharing.
Through its unique relationships with TV operators and other entertainment companies, Infomax has been providing wireless interactive products and services to China’s national TV audience since 2003. Tom Online management believes the purchase presents tremendous synergy potential for enhancing Infomax’s existing product portfolio given Tom Online’s leadership in SMS, WAP, MMS, CRBT and IVR services.
Tom Online CEO Wang Lei Lei said, “The achievements accomplished by Tom Online in the wireless Internet market today are not only the results of our ability to continuously innovate, they are also the results of our solid working relationships with mobile operators such as China Mobile. With that as a foundation, we work hard to build the most comprehensive and multifaceted distribution network in the SP industry, and focus on formulating strategies to develop entertainment and sports-related products. In the TV media alone, we have accumulated a vast amount of content cooperation experiences through our partnerships with more than 200 TV stations. I believe, with the addition of Infomax, Tom Online will be able to further enhance its TV distribution network, which in turn will help promote the growth of our entertainment services.”
Besides TV alliances, Tom Online’s extensive distribution platform also brings many media partners from print, radio and the Internet, as well as audio and visual distributors and handset manufacturers. Through its acquisition of service provider Treasure Base in August 2004, Tom Online became the exclusive wireless content partner of China’s most watched sports channel.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
