Chinese handset maker Xiaomi is making a serious play for the living room. The company on Tuesday revealed intentions to invest $1 billion to develop Internet TV content in an effort to capitalize on the fact that China became the world’s second-largest movie market just a couple of years ago.
Xiaomi said it aims to repeat the success of its hardware integration model in the television industry and by all accounts, they’re on pace to do just that.
Xiaomi only entered the television market a year ago with their Mi Box set-top boxes and Mi TV smart TVs. Earlier this year, the company announced a 49-inch smart TV with 4K resolution for less than $650 and in August, they signed a deal with Ouya to bring its catalog of games to their devices.
The Chinese tech giant has indeed found success in the mobile market as it's now the world’s third largest smartphone manufacturer, surpassing LG and Lenovo less than a week ago according to market research firm IDC.
Along with the $1 billion investment, Xiaomi also announced it has hired Cheng Tong as vice president in charge of content investments. Tong was formerly the chief editor of web portal Sina according to The Wall Street Journal.
China is certainly ripe for the picking as the country is the world’s largest market for smart TVs and over-the-top content according to Digital TV Research.
https://www.techspot.com/news/58706-xiaomi-1-billion-smart-tv-content.html
