Media Companies Representing Japan and Taiwan Establish Future-Oriented Partnership

Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) has concluded a comprehensive cooperative agreement with leading Taiwan media company Want Want China Times Media Group (WANT WANT) and its subsidiaries China Television Company (CTV) and CTI Television Incorporation (CTI). The cooperative agreement signing ceremony took place on March 25, 2010 at the NTV Headquarters with Noritada Hosokawa (NTV Representative Director and President), Fu Shun Liao (CTI President) and others in the delegation who attended.

In October 1981, NTV and CTV had formed a cooperative agreement and had been mutually cooperative in the fields of news reporting and program production for over many years. However, recent changes in the media environments of Taiwan and Japan, along with Want Want China Times Media Group (WANT WANT) being designated as the parent company of CTV and CTI in November 2008, have provided momentum for the parties involved to agree on further fostering of an evolving relationship through signing of the cooperative agreement. Details of the agreement cover diverse areas and include reciprocal exchange of news material, mutual cooperation of newsgathering and lending of broadcasting equipment, exchange of personnel and development of joint program production. NTV, through this agreement, expects to contribute to fostering cultural exchanges between Japan and Taiwan, as well as expanding business on a global level, including with China.

*WANT WANT GROUP (WANT WANT) is a large food corporation founded in 1962 in Taiwan. In the 1980's, WANT WANT adopted a rice cracker production method from a certain Japanese manufacturer, and achieved great success in the rice cracker business in Taiwan and the mainland of China. After 2000, they became one of the largest companies in Taiwan by expanding their business prospects to cover the hotel, hospital and real estate businesses, etc. In November 2008, WANT WANT acquired all shares of China Times Media Group, which held the newspaper subsidiary and the television broadcasters, CTV and CTI. In February 2009, they acquired major shares of ATV in Hong Kong, and became a large media group in Chinese-speaking territories.

*China Television Co. (CTV) is a terrestrial television broadcaster founded in 1969 in Taiwan. For a long period of time, major shares of CTV had been held by Taiwanese leading political party KMT, but under the enforcement of the new broadcast law in 2003, KMT sold all owned shares of CTV to China Times Media Group. In 2008, CTV became a subsidiary company of WANT WANT as a result of the takeover of the China Times Media Group by the company.

*CTI Television Incorporation (CTI) is a satellite and cable television broadcaster founded as CTN in 1994. In 2002, CTI had been taken over by China Times Media Group, and in 2008, CTV became a subsidiary company of WANT WANT as a result of the takeover of China Times Media Group by WANT WANT. As of today, CTI operates a total of three channels (News, Variety, and Entertainment) in Taiwan, and operates a Chinese-language channel overseas as well.

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Nippon Television Network Corporation