If, like us, you get a kick out of Next Media’s crazy animated takes on daily headlines, you’ll be sad to know that the Taiwanese studio is up for sale. The Taipei Times reports that Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai plans to sell his after allegedly suffering huge losses on the operation’s TV branch.
The chairman of Hong Kong-listed Next Media Ltd has tapped an unnamed investment bank to sell the business, which also includes the Apple Daily newspaper and Next Magazine, for US$500 million. The company has been facing difficulties in generating advertisement money because of limited news exposure, local cable TV network UBN reported.
Lai, a vocal critic of the Beijing administration, expanded his media empire to Taiwan in 2001, with the launch of Taiwanese editions of the weekly Next Magazine and the Apple Daily newspaper. Both have been commercial successes. Initially, Lai planned to get rid of the money-losing TV division only, but he was advised to sell the whole company to attract buyers. Next Media’s news station alone currently employs about 400 people.
Here’s the Next Media take on The Hunger Games books topping parents’ banned reading list:
