Mashable to launch in China after signing deal with Tencent
Mashable will launch its content in China for the first time, partnering with Tencent to launch a Chinese language Mashable site.
Mashable to launch in China via Tencent partnership
The new site will include Mashable news, features and videos in Chinese and will be featured across Tencent’s online properties, such as QQ and WeChat.
The partnership gives Tencent access to foreign content that covers lifestyle and tech, while for Mashable the agreement gives it instant scale in a market that’s typically difficult for foreign media to make a success of.
Mashable chief strategy officer, Adam Ostrow, said, “As technology and entertainment’s influence continues to grow around the globe, establishing a presence in China is a natural next step in our international expansion. In Tencent we have a partner with massive scale and experience in making content from global media brands accessible to the Chinese market.”
Caitlyn Chen, vice president at Tencent, said foreign content with a unique voice was in demand from customers: "We are always looking to provide our users with new, rich and valuable content. By partnering with Mashable we achieve just that. With their unique voice and ample content selection, we will be able to bring a brand new offering to our users that we know they'll love.”
It follows closely behind an announcement from Flipboard, which has partnered with BlueFocus to launch a Chinese version of its mobile and tablet-focused content service. Speaking to The Drum, Flipboard China CEO Jing Zhao, said there was a lack of quality content and a hunger for foreign news but that product needed to be adapted to fit the local user needs.
It’s the fourth language for Mashable and its second in Asia. According to the publication, it partnered with France24 to launch Mashable France, Telemundo for its Spanish-language site #ElPulso, and mThai to translate its content into Thai.