Why BuzzFeed is likely to fail in China - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

News aggregator Jinri Toutiao agrees to distribute content from American media outlet BuzzFeed to a Chinese audience, the Sixth Tone reports. After failures to start media operations in China by Rupert Murdoch, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Time Warner and Viacom - to mention a few - you can see business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China's Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order shaking his head in disbelieve, as he comments on the move.

The Sixth Tone:

ByteDance, Toutiao’s parent company, will publish BuzzFeed’s videos to hundreds of millions of users across multiple platforms, according to a statement released Thursday. The financial details of the licensing deal have not been disclosed. 

BuzzFeed, known for its fun and often viral content, will have to “jump through some regulatory hoops” to be successful in China, said Shaun Rein, founder of the Shanghai-based consulting firm China Market Research Group and author of the book “The War for China’s Wallet.” 

“The risks are really high, to be honest,” Rein told Sixth Tone. In addition to creating eye-catching content, he added, BuzzFeed does not tend to shy away from tackling weighty political issues.

More in the Sixth Tone. Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at you your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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