Content Providers
Content Providers

Content Providers

DoCoMo to Acquire Stake in DMG

NTT DoCoMo said today that the company will invest $4.2 million in newly issued stock for an equity stake in Digital Media Group Co., Ltd., which owns Beijing Eastlong Technology Development Co., Ltd., a company that produces and distributes digital advertisements, content and services for the subway stations and trains in Shanghai. The investment will take place in January 2005. Through Eastlong Technology, DMG is planning to expand its digital media business using the latest wireless technologies, starting from transportation ads in trains and at subway and monorail stations throughout China.

KDDI Music Downloads: $70mn Annual Revenue?

According to a 15 December report on IT Media (Japanese), KDDI’s Chaku-uta Full music download service has achieved over 360,000 downloads in the first 3 weeks — great results based on only about 200,000 supporting handsets. A keen WWJ reader has taken this data and extrapolated into the future to estimate that the 3G music service could be generating revenues of US $70 million annually after 2 years — and that’s assuming very conservative terminal penetration.

ESPN Coming to Japan Mobile

ESPN and The Walt Disney Internet Group are to launch the Japanese version of X Games Mobile, a new content-based service for wireless consumers. KDDI and Vodafone have agreed to make X Games Mobile available to their customers. X Games Mobile will offer X Games-branded content including news and information, screensavers, ring tones, wallpaper, photos, logos, and streaming audio and video.

Vodafone live! BB Launched

Vodafone live! BB LaunchedVodafone Japan is back in Japan’s 3G data race with today’s launch of Vodafone live! BB, a fixed-line PC Web site [only in Japanese so far] that allows users to search and download content for use on mobile terminals. Vodafone live! BB will operate with Vodafone’s new 3G handsets and serve as a a sort of Mother-of-all-Mobile-Portals solution for getting biggie-sized files (think audio, music and video) onto phones. Anyone can download the content files to a PC or laptop, copy them onto miniSD memory cards, and transfer them to a phone, but only Vodafone customers with a spanking new 3G celly can receive a digital key (distributed over the air) to unlock the files for playback.

Virgin Plans Mobile JV in China

Virgin Group chief Richard Branson said he has earmarked $300 million for a cellular phone joint venture in China, the world’s largest mobile market by users. Branson, whose mobile operations resell other carriers’ service under the Virgin brand, aims to have a 50-50 venture with a Chinese partner in operation in 12 to 18 months. “The Chinese market is obviously the fastest-growing market in the world. Virgin will be foolish if it is not a player in the market,” Branson told reporters.

Apple Plans Music Downloads in Japan (Good Luck!)

A Reuters report cites yesterday’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun (newspaper) as saying that Apple Computer plans to start a music download service in Japan by March 2005. The Nikkei said Apple aimed to offer more than 100,000 songs with an emphasis on Japanese music at its “iTunes Music Store,” which is expected to be the largest music download service in the country. But it’s unlikely to happen exactly as Apple might wish, and here’s why.