Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the leading podcast network, today
released the first of several informational business overviews regarding
FAB. Over the next several weeks, Wizzard plans to issue additional
overviews based on various FAB business segments including: wholesale
media distribution, retail and franchise based distribution of media
products as well as digital kiosk based distribution of media products.
FAB Wholesale Media Distribution Business
Founded in 2003, FAB is headquartered in Beijing and distributes over
150,000 media based products including copyrighted DVD’s, Blu-ray Discs,
music CD’s, video games and downloadable digital content through three
distribution channels – wholesale and retail, vending kiosks and
internet stores.
FAB wholesale distribution business distributes media products to over
80 customers including Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU), Dangdang (NYSE: Dangdang)
and Century Outstanding Information Technology Company, a subsidiary of
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN). FAB’s wholesale business caters to three
types of customers: large retail stores, FAB franchise stores and small
wholesale/resellers. Customers place orders by telephone, through the
internet or in-person and fulfillment is handled by FAB’s vehicle fleet
or through direct warehouse access.
With over 100 suppliers and 80 wholesale customers, including the
Government, the wholesale business segment is growing rapidly with FAB
strongly positioned to be the leader in copyright protected material as
the media entertainment industry continues to expand in China. Revenues
for the wholesale business segment were $23.5m ’09, $31.9m ’10, $44.7m
’11 and $27m for the first six months of fiscal 2012.
Recently, the Chinese government announced initiatives for the
protection of copyrighted content as both official policy and a
strategic priority, and has publicly recognized FAB as an early
anti-piracy champion.
The development of the digital media industry in China is now a national
strategic initiative based on China’s official Eleventh Five-Year Plan
passed by China’s National People’s Congress. Following sustained
lobbying efforts by western media companies, China has begun to relax
its longstanding limits on foreign media. For example, up to 20
blockbuster western movies can now be shown in Chinese theaters per
year. The demand for viewing foreign DVD content on personal
entertainment devices has burgeoned and with the government’s official
crack-down on pirated content becoming official, FAB and the network of
retailers it supplies have experienced substantial increases in demand.
For more information on FAB, please click here.
The acquisition of FAB by Wizzard, which is expected to close by August,
2012 is subject to approvals by each company’s shareholders, the
satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals
both in the U.S. and China.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and
monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National
Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 10,000 others who
use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver
popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through
advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2011, the Wizzard Media
Network received well over 1.64 billion podcast requests from
approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads,
iTunes, Blackberrys, Windows Phones, Zunes, Androids and many other
devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh
based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team.
Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media,
email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
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forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks
associated with changes in general economic and business conditions,
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acceptance of our services and changes in our business strategies.
