Star lures China-born Wu from MTV

<p>HONG KONG: MTV Asia Online Entertainment has lost its </p><p>Singapore-based general manager, Cindy Wu, to rival satellite </p><p>broadcaster Star. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The wholly-owned News Corporation subsidiary created the position of </p><p>senior vice-president for China business development specifically for </p><p>mainland-born Wu, who - according to MTV - is relocating to Beijing for </p><p>"personal reasons". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Wu's appointment is effective immediately and marks a renewed effort by </p><p>Star to beef up its presence in the mainland. Wu was with MTV for a </p><p>little over a year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Star's executive vice-president (China), Laurie Smith, said: "Cindy has </p><p>a wide range of experience in the media industry in China and will be an </p><p>invaluable asset." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The broadcaster's Beijing office said the station sees strong prospects </p><p>in developing its China media business further. Other new positions are </p><p>expected to open soon as Star puts its plans in place to tap the </p><p>mainland market's growth potential. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With more than 12 years experience in traditional and new media in both </p><p>Asia-Pacific and North America, Wu has been involved in numerous </p><p>media-related projects. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Prior to joining MTV, Wu also worked in the IT publishing industry in </p><p>the US and China for several years. This included positions at IDG China </p><p>and CMP Media Inc, during which time Wu launched newspapers and </p><p>magazines such as the Chinese edition of Cosmopolitan under a licensing </p><p>arrangement with Trends magazine. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Wu's management expertise covers multinational operations, joint-venture </p><p>development, international licensing, government relations, business </p><p>development and sales and marketing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The China media market is growing rapidly, and Chinese media consumers </p><p>are becoming more sophisticated in terms of their tastes and needs," </p><p>said Wu. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"China's development is quite uneven between the east and west regions </p><p>and in media, where there is an imbalance between the current supply and </p><p>demand." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>She said demand for media has picked up tremendously, but supply was </p><p>limited by a lack of variety, differentiation and quality. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Wu believes Star is well placed to tap China's demand for better media </p><p>choices. "News Corporation has a bigger vision for China than any other </p><p>Western media company." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, MTV Asia Online has promoted former Asiacontent.com executive </p><p>Randall Maxwell to general manager. Asiacontent and MTV are partners </p><p>behind MTV Online. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>