Chinese entertainment giant Wanda Group is reportedly in the mood for shopping, and it now has its eye on Dick Clark Productions, a company that owns far more than ABC’s New Year’s Eve programming. The transaction would give Wanda and its billionaire owner control of programs like the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, and the Miss America pageant.
Big awards shows don’t draw as many viewers as they used to but millions of people around the world watch the shows that Dick Clark Productions owns, and people who don’t watch them still think that they seem prestigious.
Wanda, the Wall Street Journal notes, is mostly a commercial property developer in China, but has been buying entertainment assets internationally, including the movie theater chain AMC and movie studio Legendary Entertainment.
At home, the company has linked these two interests by building theme parks, which have drawn the ire of Disney with their own versions of Snow White and Captain America wandering around.
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist