BEIJING, CHINA, February 26, 2004 - SOHU.COM Inc. (NASDAQ:
SOHU), China's leading online media, communications, commerce and mobile
value-added services company, and NEC (China) Co., Ltd, one of the world’s
leading solutions providers for broadband networking and mobile Internet, today
announced an exclusive agreement to bring copyrighted wireless ringtones on the
Chinese market and pledged further cooperation in the Internet broadband content
and wireless content business.
SOHU.COM and NEC are joining forces to expand the new business of building
mobile phone value-added services in China based on NEC's experience with
wireless Internet in other markets and SOHU’s brand strength and reach within
the fast-expanding Internet and wireless consumer market. Under the terms of the
agreement NEC will introduce unique copyrighted ringtones in China that mobile
phone users can download from the SOHU SMS and MMS channels and transmit to
their mobile phones by the wireless carriers China Mobile and China Unicom.
These ringtones include renowned Japanese pop songs, J-POP and J-WAVE that
already have a strong fan base among Chinese youth. The two companies plan to
expand into additional wireless value-added services areas as well as online
broadband content in the future.
With over 250 million mobile phone users China has already become the biggest
cell phone market in the world. China’s discerning consumers demand the highest
quality wireless value-added content and services to enhance the entertainment
value of their mobile devices. SOHU SMS (http://sms.sohu.com) is a top
value-added services provider in China working closely with the mobile carriers
and cell phone manufacturers to bring the best-of-breed entertainment services,
comprising of over 300 products, to Chinese consumers. In MMS services SOHU has
emerged as a market leader, continuously developing products and services for
MMS (http://mms.sohu.com) as well as for other 2.5G applications, such as
Interactive Voice Response (IVR), WAP and K-Java, including exclusively branded
content from the Walt Disney Internet Group.
Demand for quality interactive online content is rising as more Internet
users in China are connecting via broadband services. By the end of 2003 10.7
million out of 80 million Internet users had subscribed to online broadband
services offered by China’s fixed line telecom operators (China Telecom, China
Netcom and China Railcom). The current growth trend of broadband services is
expected to continue in coming years. Catering to this growing user base of
broadband services, SOHU is expanding content offerings for broadband use,
including the launch of a new Music Channel for broadband in January of 2004.
"SOHU is pleased to cooperate with NEC, a leading global content partner. The
expression ‘Content is King’ applies in particular to MMS and other 2.5G
applications. Exclusive branded and copyrighted products will help differentiate
SOHU from the competition in wireless value-added services. By bringing the
exciting Japanese music world into people’s handsets we believe SOHU and NEC
will further promote Chinese wireless value added business among consumers," Mr.
Victor Koo, COO of SOHU.COM, said.
"China is the focal point of our corporate strategy because of the tremendous
opportunities the largest mobile communications market in the world and second
largest Internet population in the word is offering companies like NEC. Chinese
consumers are quick adopters of new technology, so we hope these unique
ringtones will be well received by them. We trust we have embarked on a win-win
strategic partnership with SOHU's capable management team to achieve our goals
in the promising China market," Mr. Norihiko Kunishima, Associate Senior Vice
President of NEC Corporation, said.
Safe Harbor Statement This company's announcement
contains forward-looking statements. It is currently expected the Business
Outlook will not be updated until the release of SOHU's next quarterly earnings
announcement; however, SOHU reserves the right to update its Business Outlook at
any time for any reason. We may also make written or oral forward-looking
statements in our periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission on
Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, etc., in our annual report to shareholders, in our proxy
statements, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements
made by our officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that
are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and
expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on
current plans, estimates and projections, and therefore you should not place
undue reliance on them.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We
caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, SOHU's
historical and possible future losses, limited operating history, uncertain
regulatory landscape in the People's Republic of China, fluctuations in
quarterly operating results, and the company's reliance on online advertising
sales, e-subscriptions (most of which are collected from a few mobile telecom
operators) and e-commerce for its revenues. Further information regarding these
and other risks is included in SOHU's Annual Report on Form 10K for the year
ended December 31, 2002, Quarterly Report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2003 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
About SOHU.com SOHU.com is the leading Internet portal in
Mainland China with current daily page views exceeding 12 million. It provides
navigation/search, news, sports, business and finance, real estate channel,
entertainment, chat, email and e-commerce activities for a solid and wide base
of visitors. Dr. Charles Zhang founded SOHU.com in 1997. Its investors include
Intel, Dow Jones, IDG, the Morningside China Group, PCCW, Legend and Hikari. Its
content partners include CNET, DOW Jones and dozens of local media organizations
in China.
For further information: Dahlia Wei SOHU Investor
Relations and Communications Tel: +86 10 6272 6598 E-mail:
ir@sohu-inc.com
http://www.sohu.com/about/English/ |