ImaginAsian in Investment, Content Deal with Fuji

NEW YORK, February 12: Fujisankei Communications
International (FCI), a subsidiary of Japan’s Fuji Television Network, has made
an investment in the Asian-American media outfit ImaginAsian Entertainment
(IA).

The investment follows a similar move last year by Korea’s
Sidus Corp. “Fujisankei’s decision to invest and marry their U.S. media goals
with IA’s vision is a reflection on the emphasis Asian media companies are
placing on leveraging their strategic importance in the marketplace—the
companies that have the most to gain are getting smarter and organizing,” said
Augustine Hong, the chairman and CEO of IA.

In addition to its financial investment, Fujisankei will
provide a slate of news and entertainment content for the Asian-American cable
outlet iaTV, including Japanese drama and variety shows.

“This partnership will allow Fujisankei to leverage its
content to help create the clear leader in the Asian-American media space by
utilizing IA’s various vehicles such as the linear cable network, VOD,
theaters, and home entertainment,” said J. Edward Lee, the president and COO of
ImaginAsian Entertainment. “The goal for IA is a clear one—we will
continue to aggregate top content from Asia and strategic scale through the
active participation of key strategic partners and execute a unified business
strategy that will serve the best interests of our cable partners, advertisers,
and most importantly, our consumers.”

—By
Mansha Daswani