Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Fuji Media Holdings Inc., the parent company of Fuji Television Network Inc., and SBI Holdings Inc. announced Friday that they have begun discussions to form a strategic media business alliance.
The Japanese companies aim to jointly produce programs such as dramas and intellectual property and market them overseas. They also seek collaboration that leverages financial and digital technologies. The SBI group holds a total of about 7% in Fuji Media shares, and the two companies will deepen their partnership in business operations as well.
SBI is currently forming a fund worth 100 billion yen to invest in media companies, IP and other related businesses, and Fuji Media is considering participating in it. Envisaging a primary focus on producing dramas and anime, the companies are also considering selecting targets for the fund's investment and coproducing content with SBI's partners. They are also contemplating organizing events in areas such as sports and music. Both companies intend to leverage their expertise in broadcasting, streaming and social media.
Fuji Media is also considering working with various digital services, including the SBI Financial Agent app, which SBI is developing to provide services including banking, securities and insurance. The companies state that they aim to build an "economy ecosystem" that "creates new economic activities contributing to the enhancement of corporate value" of the two groups.
SBI has positioned media business as a new growth area and started forming a series of partnerships last year with such entities as an animation production company and a talent agency. The company intends to leverage Fuji group's expertise to create high-quality content.
Fuji Media has been pressured by investors linked to the now-defunct Murakami Fund to improve capital efficiency, and is considering spinning off and selling its real estate business, which used to be a pillar of its management alongside media. The company plans to focus exclusively on its media business going forward, and aims to drive growth through collaboration with SBI, which is strong in finance and information technology.
----
This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
YDN-M0000213273-1
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 28, 2026 23:20 ET (03:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 The Yomiuri Shimbun
Comments