BesTV New Media, Indonesia's Telkomsel inks deal

JAKARTA - BesTV New Media, Shanghai Media Group's new media subsidiary, and Telkomsel, the leading telecommunication operator in Indonesia, signed a memorandum of understanding on investment for online and cellular phone media service cooperation.

According to the MOU, BesTV and Telkomsel will jointly invest some $20 million to conduct cooperation in news production, content center, channel operation, digital movie broadcast system and Direct-to-Home services, among others.

Zhang Dazhong, vice-chairman of BesTV, said the MOU was the first of its kind between Chinese media groups and Indonesian telecom operators, which will enable the 150 million Telkomsel users to have access to characteristic and diversified media services.

Indra Utoyo, Director for IT Solution and Strategic Portfolio with Telkomsel, said the two businesses started to explore cooperation in 2011 and signed cooperative agreements on new media services in February, 2012, which are at the trial stage and will soon be put into commercial use. He is confident that BesTV's technology will be successful the Indonesian market and offer reference to new media development in the region.

According to Zong Ming, vice-chief of Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation, the city is giving increasing priority to the growth of cultural and creative industry, setting the target of contribution by the industry to GDP at 12 percent by 2015. The MOU will not only boost the development of cultural and creative industry in Shanghai, but also offer a case to study in achieving global development of new media enterprises.

BesTV went public at Shanghai Stock Exchange in December 29, 2011. Indonesia is the first stop for BesTV's overseas strategy and the gate for it to enter the Southeast Asia and global market at large.