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☆ China’s version of Spotify is ‘underappreciated,’ Morgan Stanley says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tencent Music Entertainment is convincing more people in China to pay for music. Because of the size of China's market, it's more than Spotify 's claim of 574 million monthly active users —across 184 countries and territories. TME's "music value [is] still underappreciated," Morgan Stanley analysts led by Alex Poon wrote in a late November report. "We see room for [TME] music revenue to double and profit to triple in the next three years," the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote, noting "limited risks from macro and competition." Revenue from music subscriptions is estimated to rise 38% in 2023 versus 2022, Morgan Stanley estimates.

Persons: That's, Morgan Stanley, Alex Poon, ADRs, TME, Alex Yao, Gross, JPMorgan's Yao, Tencent, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Tencent, Entertainment, Spotify, Kugou Music, JPMorgan Locations: China, U.S, Tencent, 3Q23

☆ China's Tencent Music beats revenue estimates on paid subscriber growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of China's Tencent Music Entertainment Group is seen next to an earphone in this illustration picture taken March 22, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 14 (Reuters) - China's Tencent Music Entertainment (1698.HK) beat estimates for third-quarter revenue on Tuesday, helped by steady growth in paid subscriptions on its music streaming platform. Tencent Music, which includes platforms such as QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing, has won listeners over by bundling everything from karaoke platforms to live concert streaming services. Total revenue of the Tencent Holdings Ltd-controlled (0700.HK) company, however, fell to 6.57 billion yuan ($900.9 million) in the third quarter. Net profit attributable to equity holders of the company rose to 1.71 billion yuan, from 1.06 billion yuan a year earlier.

Persons: Florence Lo, Harshita Mary Varghese, Akash Sriram, Pooja Desai Organizations: Entertainment, REUTERS, HK, Kugou, Tencent Holdings, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ China watchdog fines Tencent over illegal content on its messaging platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A man rides an electric bike past the Tencent headquarters in Nanshan district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 2, 2022. REUTERS/David Kirton Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Sept 13 (Reuters) - China's cyberspace regulator has imposed a fine of 1 million yuan ($137,390.95) on Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) due to what it said was illegal and pornographic information on its messaging platform Tencent QQ, the regulator said on Wednesday. Tencent QQ's security center said it accepted the fine and would take actions to improve the platform. ($1 = 7.2785 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Beijing newsroom. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Kirton, Tencent, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Tencent Holdings, HK, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Nanshan district, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, Rights BEIJING

☆ China online platforms scrap lucky draw features amid gambling crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Analysts say online content platforms pulled the plug on features such as virtual lucky draws after the government in June started cracking down on live streaming, as part of a wider clampdown on online gambling. While the platforms say they ban gambling, analysts say the extremely popular lucky draws are often manipulated by live streamers colluding with viewers to share the prize. None of these companies mentioned the gambling crackdown when they reported their earnings, and they did not respond to request for further comment. However, the co-founder of a popular live streaming platform in Guangzhou, who declined to be named citing the sensitivity of the topic, told Reuters that several popular live streaming and live chat apps had to suspend services after police probes. Online gambling remains a concern, with the authorities saying in 2020 that the cross-border flow of funds for gambling posed a national security risk.

Persons: Florence Lo, HONG KONG, Analysys, Ivan Su, Huya, Charlie Chai, Tencent, Chai, Josh Ye, Farah, Brenda Goh Organizations: Entertainment, QQ, REUTERS, Tencent, HK, Morningstar, Cloud, NetEase, Reuters, Thomson Locations: HONG, Guangzhou, Beijing

☆ China's Tencent says it is expanding testing of 'Hunyuan' AI model
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Aly SongHONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters) - China's Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) said on Thursday that it has started internal testing of its self-developed artificial intelligence (AI) model, which is now being integrated with a number of internal services and products. In a statement sent to Reuters on Thursday, Tencent said its foundation AI model named "Hunyuan" has been integrated with a range of products such as Tencent Cloud, Tencent Meeting and Tencent Docs. "The Tencent Hunyuan large model, completely developed by ourselves from scratch, has now entered the application testing phase within the company," the company said. Reuters first reported the company's effort to develop the Hunyuan model in February. On Thursday, Tencent also listed Tencent Games, Tencent Advertising, QQ Browser, WeChat Search and Tencent Fintech as lines of business that have been testing the Hunyuan model recently.

Persons: Aly, HONG KONG, Tencent, Josh Ye, Jason Neely, Kim Coghill Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, Tencent Holdings, HK, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Shenzhen

☆ China's Tencent Music revenue beats estimates on jump in paying users
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 16 (Reuters) - China's Tencent Music Entertainment Group (1698.HK), topped quarterly revenue estimates on Tuesday as the Spotify-like music streaming platform benefited from growth in paying users, sending its U.S. shares 2% higher in premarket trading. That helped the Tencent Holdings Ltd-controlled company, which owns platforms including QQ Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing, snap five consecutive quarters of revenue declines. Total revenue rose 5.4% to 7.00 billion yuan ($1.01 billion) in the first quarter, beating analysts' estimates of 6.86 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. "We are glad to achieve a record-high online music paying ratio and expand ARPU for the fourth consecutive quarter. Net profit attributable to equity holders was 1.15 billion yuan, compared with 609 million yuan a year earlier.

☆ Why Do American Diners Have Such a Limited Palate for Textures?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ligaya Mishan | Esther Choi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

What of the worlds that lie between slime and velvet, collapse and refusal, succulence and desiccation? Not only does English lack a robust vocabulary for food textures but, whether as corollary or coincidence, English speakers also tend to value a narrower range of textures. In a survey by the American sensory scientist Jeannine F. Delwiche conducted at Ohio State University in 2002, respondents considered texture significantly less important than taste and scent in its impact on flavor. It is often defined as a confluence of taste, scent and memory, yet other senses intrude. Studies have shown that diners have difficulty identifying flavors when foods are dyed different colors, for example.

☆ TikTok banned from school-owned devices on all Florida state universities
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Chris Boyette | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

“Data privacy, particularly concerning student data and faculty research, is a critical priority for the State University System of Florida,” the Board of Governors said in a statement to CNN. Bans and regulations of Tik Tok in particular, and of social media sites in general, have been mounting. Utah also regulating useLate last month, the governor of Utah signed a bill which requires teens to get parental approval to use social media. Earlier this week, the United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office, which regulates data, fined Tik Tok for a number of breaches of data protection law. CNN has reached out to each for comment.

☆ The wildly popular MMORPG 'World of Warcraft' just lost a huge chunk of its players overnight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Millions of Chinese gamers will no longer be able to play the wildly popular MMORPG "World Of Warcraft." Blizzard Entertainment — the company behind "World of Warcraft" and other popular online role-playing games — suspended its servers in China at midnight after a licensing agreement with NetEase Games, China's "World of Warcraft" distribution partner, expired. Released in 2004, "World of Warcraft" is a fantasy game in which players create an avatar that can fight monsters, complete quests, and engage with other players in the medieval Azeroth universe. Another "World of Warcraft" player said on Weibo that the game was 'my first love,' per CNN. The end of "World of Warcraft" in China — which arrived in the country in 2008 — is a result of a tense dispute between Blizzard and NetEase that occurred last November.

☆ Why India banned TikTok — and what the US can learn from it, as pressure mounts for Biden to follow suit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

To see what could happen if the US were to ban TikTok, analysts say to look at India. Why did India ban TikTok? What happened when India banned TikTokIn the summer of 2020, India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat, Weibo, and QQ, an instant-messaging service owned by the internet giant Tencent. While the situation wouldn't be exactly the same, the US might face these questions if it decides to ban TikTok. "So if that continues to deteriorate, I can't imagine that that that doesn't increase the odds of some sort of TikTok ban."

☆ Even Elon and Zuck don't have the juice to make an all-in-one 'super app' happen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel harbor super app ambitions; Microsoft reportedly wants to build its take on a super app that would rival Google. At Facebook's parent company Meta, "super app" is a taboo word precisely because it's too abstract, Insider's Kali Hays reported last month. A newcomer super app has a tougher sell accessing this sophisticated, less trusting type of user. Silicon Valley's gatekeepers stand in the way of the super app dreamUS tech firms harboring super app ambitions will need to fend off their own regulators, overseas regulators, and Apple's App Store. As the CPP Investments white paper notes, super apps "can be thought of as operating platforms for mobile devices."

☆ Maryland governor bans use of TikTok on state devices
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued an emergency directive on Tuesday prohibiting the use of Chinese-owned short-video sharing app TikTok on state government devices and networks, the latest U.S. Republican to crack down on TikTok. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem last week signed an executive order barring state employees and contractors from installing or using TikTok on state-owned devices and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Monday asked a state agency to ban TikTok from state government phones and computers. Maryland executive branch agencies must remove the products from state networks and prevent access. TikTok said the concerns prompting state bans were largely fueled by misinformation. TikTok executive Vanessa Pappas told lawmakers in September that TikTok was making progress toward a final agreement with the U.S. government.

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