China MediaExpress Holdings, Inc. (fka CCME)

[forzagrifo]

I just came back from a trip to Guangzhou where I took a CCME bus from Shenzhen Luohu to Dongguan East, a non-CCME bus from Dongguan East to Guangzhou Tianhe, then a CCME bus from Guangzhou Tianhe to Guangzhou Airport. Didn't shoot any video or pictures though as the experience was what I had expected it to be and many excellent video were already been provided by WCTBills.

One very positive piece of info in the conversation I had with the bus driver -- the bus company of the Shenzhen - Dongguan East line had in the past contracted with a CCME competitor (Name is Shenzhen Shiliantong. See links below). The driver said Shiliantong was using DVD discs to play the video. I don't know exactly why they decided to switch to CCME, however.

Shiliangtong claims to have about 5500 buses based mostly in the Pearl River Delta and South China region. At the Shenzhen Luohu bus terminal where I visited, I saw several bus lines with Shiliangtong screens.

IMO if one bus company switched from Shiliangtong to CCME (could be for many reasons-- concession fees, technical reasons, etc), it is a good sign that more companies may switch in the future.

Another observation I had was the market as a whole has a lot of room to grow into. Most of us already know this, but I have more conviction after seeing what I saw. In Guangzhou Airport for example, there are about 10 airport express bus lines traveling to 2nd/3rd tier cities which do not play any video whatever, but the TV/LCD screens are already installed (I surmise they come pre-installed with the buses).

When I rode an inter-city bus from Dongguan East (a 2nd tier city in Guangdong province) to Guangzhou Tianhe, the LCD screen did not show anything. I surmise there are a lot of buses like this travelling to/from 2nd-and-lower tier cities which are virgin markets that CCME might be able to capture in the future.


Shiliangtong's job hiring:
http://company.zhaopin.com/P7/CC1364/3266/CC136432667.htm

http://sou.zhaopin.com/jobs/jobsearch_adv.aspx?jl=489&kw=%E8%A7%86%E8%81%94%E9%80%9A&p=1&sf=0

Info on Shiliangtong:
http://www.mtwire.cn/media/5691.htm

http://www.a.com.cn/Enterprise/awhy/company_102765.html

http://ent.oeeee.com/a/20070628/255170.html

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTcxMDc4NDQw.html