Broadcasters Under Seige Again

[Mulboyne]

Following on from gkanai's post:

Yomiuri: Rakuten eyes banking, broadcasting

Banking and broadcasting are on the mind of Rakuten Inc. President Hiroshi Mikitani. In a recent interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, the head of the major Internet firm confirmed that his company would enter the banking sector by forming an alliance with an existing operator. "I said previously I wasn't considering entering the banking business, but we changed our policy," Mikitani said...Arguing the boundary between broadcasting and the Internet had become fuzzy, Mikitani also suggested his firm may enter the broadcasting industry in the future. "The Internet is more compatible with television than I imagined, and the boundary between broadcasting and the Internet is becoming fuzzy. Although it may take some time [for that media format] to change, changes will suddenly come when they happen. We'll go forward before they change," he said...more...

Bloomberg: Tokyo Broadcast Gains on Report Rakuten Bought Shares

Shares of Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc., Japan's third-biggest broadcaster, surged after reports Rakuten Inc. and an investment fund led by Yoshiaki Murakami raised their stakes in the company. The shares traded 12 percent higher to 3,620 yen as of 10:13 a.m... Rakuten and Murakami each acquired more than 5 percent in the broadcaster...Rakuten may own as much as 16 percent of the company. "It is true that we hold a certain number of Tokyo Broadcasting shares," Rakuten said today in a statement to the Tokyo exchange. "The details about the extent and purpose of ownership will be released later."

[IkemenTommy]

Obviously, Livedoor's rival, Rakuten, wants to prove that they have the power to achieve something that Livedoor failed to do. I will bet a dime that Rakuten has no ambition of acquiring or gain anything from this.

[Mulboyne]

MDN: Rakuten proposes merger with TBS through formation of joint holding company
Rakuten Inc, which has acquired over 15 percent of shares in Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), proposed on Thursday that the two companies merge through the formation of a joint holding company, Rakuten announced. Rakuten, the operator of a major Internet shopping mall, has acquired 29.38 million, or 15.46 percent, of TBS shares, Rakuten President Hiroshi Mikitani said. Mikitani told reporters that Rakuten will aim to form a global Internet-media conglomerate rather than take over the broadcaster. Pointing out that TBS has excellent skills in creating content and that Rakuten has expertise in the Internet and database marketing, Rakuten officials said that combining the two entities would lay the groundwork for providing attractive contents to the world.

[Mulboyne]

Japan Times: Livedoor may act as white knight for TBS: sources
Internet portal operator Livedoor Co. has cranked up its rivalry with online shopping mall Rakuten Inc. by offering to answer a potential SOS call from Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. Livedoor has told TBS it is willing to step in and help if the latter's business-integration talks with Rakuten break down and the broadcaster becomes the target of a hostile takeover bid, company sources said Friday...more...

Yomiuri: Rakuten proposal laid bare Loyalty points for TBS viewers, Dentsu involvement on the table
Rakuten Inc. proposed to Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. that TBS viewers be given loyalty points for its online shopping mall, according to a copy of the proposal document. It also said cooperation with advertising firm Dentsu Inc. would be essential for amalgamation of the two companies' services. The document, titled "A Proposal to Create a Successful Media Group," presented Rakuten's business model for integrated operations with TBS under a holding company.
-- Rakuten providing information about TBS television programs to 30 million members of the Rakuten group's services.
-- Consumers who watch TBS programs and TV ads being given loyalty points that could be used in Rakuten's online shopping mall.
-- Rakuten offering opportunities to TBS viewers to communicate with one another using Weblogs.
...The document also says that cooperation from Dentsu, the nation's largest ad agency, is essential to realizing the plan. To cope with intensified global competition in the future, the document says mergers with and acquisition of media companies in other Asian countries, as well as other steps, would be necessary to enter overseas markets
...more...

[dingosatemybaby]

Japan Times: Livedoor may act as white knight for TBS: sources
Internet portal operator Livedoor Co. has cranked up its rivalry with online shopping mall Rakuten Inc. by offering to answer a potential SOS call from Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. Livedoor has told TBS it is willing to step in and help if the latter's business-integration talks with Rakuten break down and the broadcaster becomes the target of a hostile takeover bid, company sources said Friday...more...

Yomiuri: Rakuten proposal laid bare Loyalty points for TBS viewers, Dentsu involvement on the table
Rakuten Inc. proposed to Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. that TBS viewers be given loyalty points for its online shopping mall, according to a copy of the proposal document. It also said cooperation with advertising firm Dentsu Inc. would be essential for amalgamation of the two companies' services. The document, titled "A Proposal to Create a Successful Media Group," presented Rakuten's business model for integrated operations with TBS under a holding company.
-- Rakuten providing information about TBS television programs to 30 million members of the Rakuten group's services.
-- Consumers who watch TBS programs and TV ads being given loyalty points that could be used in Rakuten's online shopping mall.
-- Rakuten offering opportunities to TBS viewers to communicate with one another using Weblogs.
...The document also says that cooperation from Dentsu, the nation's largest ad agency, is essential to realizing the plan. To cope with intensified global competition in the future, the document says mergers with and acquisition of media companies in other Asian countries, as well as other steps, would be necessary to enter overseas markets
...more...

Cooperation with Big Daddy Dentsu is essential for anything to happen in the J-media world.

[Mulboyne]

The Asahi has found the real story benind the Rakuten/TBS tussle:

Asahi: Rakuten, TBS advisers plot financial warfare

...In one camp is Goldman Sachs, which became the financial adviser for Rakuten in mid-October. The alliance appears to some as an attempt by Goldman Sachs to exact revenge. The U.S. investment bank had courted TBS for about six months only to be spurned when the broadcaster turned to Nikko Principal Investments Japan Ltd. for financial advice.

So now it's a revenge drama. Wonderful journalism.