SCMP Remove Online Paywall After Alibaba Acquisition

Alibaba completes $3.5 billion takeover of South China Morning Post to dominate the Chinese media sector

South China Morning Post has removed the online paywall from its site following the completion of its takeover by Alibaba. Its PDF editions and physical newspaper will remain subscription based.

Earlier, SCMP imposed a limit on those stories, which non-paying users could read on its site monthly; but currently, that cap has been removed in a measure “paves the way to grow its readership globally,” as revealed by Editor-in-Chief Tammy Tam.

Tammy further claimed that people need “insightful and trusted news” from China – a line similar to what was heard from founder of the Chinese e-commerce company. In December, the online retailer announced plans to purchase the 113-year-old publication. Companies purchasing media always express concern. Executive chairman of Alibaba, Joe Tsai, told at the moment that the company won’t interfere with the methods of the newspaper to work, but rather use its own resources.

That means increased financial efforts from the business perspective through what the organization calls as “e-commerce media ecosystem.” Beyond than three-bundled buzzwords joined together to form a phrase, CEO of the Hangzhou-based organization, Daniel Zhang, claimed the case that media represents a possibly profitable channel for online trading facilities, and those of the organization while also helping media organization earn money.

Besides the publication, Alibaba also invested in ‘Weibo’ (a microblogging website) and is passing through the completion phase of a $3.5 billion takeover of video website ‘Youku Tudou’ to enhance its media profile.

Apart from dropping its paywall, the mobile apps of SCMP is also revamped with deep-linking, personalization, search and other features, since the organization states it is now “a mobile first company” with mobile representing most of its business.

Many doubted the intentions of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos when took over the American publication, Washington Post, but the newspaper seems to be allowed to keep working under own rule. Alibaba can be compared to Amazon in a number of ways, and people can just wait to find out if it can act with patience with its sparkly newly acquired media asset.

SCMP reported that since last night, a reader could read it free of charge and download the new app for Windows, Android and iPhone for easy and speedy reach to the latest news.

Chairman of Alibaba, Jack Ma said, “[With the paywall taken down today] our focus now should not be on finding the right media business model.” The dropping of Paywall differs from the international trend of publications charging readers for articles they read on websites, but Jack is taking a lesson from his Taobao experience. He expressed confidence that with the help of a change-embracing and open-minded approach, the publication would turn itself into a profitable publication and find out its own business model. 

AliBaba To Purchase South China Morning Post For Dominating The Media Sector

Alibaba Group Holding Limited would procure SCMP to establish its foothold in the media industry

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has decided to purchase the Hong Kong based publication South China Morning Post alongside other associated media resources as the web tycoon Jack Ma has followed the footsteps of Jeff Bezos who has played a role in reviving a 100 years old print media company.

Though financial details were not revealed, the Hangzhou based company revealed on Friday that the acquisition might include the leading newspaper and affiliated enterprises including the Hong Kong versions of Elle, Esquire alongside other magazines and recruitment. The Chinese electronic commerce organization also stated it would scrap the publication’s web pay wall and those editorial verdicts would be made "in the newsroom, not in the corporate boardroom."

The SCMP, once the industry’s envy in terms of profitability, has lately joined together mastheads in battling to attract promoters amid the growth of free publications across the internet. Hong Kong’s premier English-language paper has not been changed since media mogul Rupert Murdoch spun of majority of his shares to the Malaysia billionaire Robert Kuok in 1993.

Beijing based investment and advisory company CastleHill Partners LLC’s managing partner Peter Schloss stated “Jack Ma is such an innovative and visionary figure that the future of the South China Morning Post under his control may actually be somewhat brighter, Robert Kuok has lost interest in it. Jack would come in and invigorate it to move it firmly in the digital space.”

For the e-commerce organization, the procurement of the newspaper would play a role in enhancing its expanding media empire. In June, the corporation made a statement that the acquisition of stock in one of the largest economy’s most powerful business media enterprises might help the company establish an entertainment and media corporation known as CMC Holdings.

Last month, the company decided to purchase video service provider Youku Tudou to provide more streaming content to the internet users in China through its ability to control Youtube like website, and also made an investment in the most recent “Mission Impossible" film of Paramount Pictures through its Alibaba Pictures Group division.

Jack Ma also pursues the Seattle based company Amazon’s Jeff, who took over the Washington Posts 2 years ago- amongst internet magnates cracking at time published media struggles to battle with Web based rivals for promotion.

According to news on Alibaba, one of the founders of Facebook, Chris Hughes, purchased a major share in the New Republic Magazine three years ago. Axel Springer SE,the Germany based media organization headed by Mathias Doepfner, bidded for the London based publication Financial times previously this year, which was spun off to the Japanese based Nikkei for $1.3bn.