Alibaba Plans Ruined By Chinese Government

Chinese regulators have frozen the collaboration deal between the online retailer and Walt Disney

The Chinese government has frozen the collaboration deal between Alibaba and Walt Disney company, which is popular as Disney in China. The measure has been taken amidst the imposition of stricter controls on web content by the Chinese regulatory bodies. Both organizations had collaborated in December last year. Under the partnership, the Chinese e-commerce company signed a multiyear licensing contract for the subscription service, Disney Life, which is intended to bring the games, films and cartoon series of the media company to Chinese screens.

Nevertheless, it is now reported that the facility is not being offered and that the online retailer is refunding its customers. Both organizations have refused to comment. Nevertheless, two people aware of the matter spoke to the Wall Street Journal that the facility was suspended as per instructions issued by the Chinese regulatory bodies. The Hangzhou based organization had started selling Mickey Mouse-shaped connecting device with the help of which the facility could be used.

The device also helped users to arrange visits to Disneyland parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It was offered at a price of $123 and needed just an internet access to stream the Disney content. The product was offered on the online marketplace of Alibaba Tmall. A customer of the service claimed that he was aware in the last month by the customer-service staff of Tmall that the service would not be offered for "an unknown period of time." He also stated that he has been refunded which included the cost of the product and a one-year membership fee.

In 2015, the American company introduced the same product in the United Kingdom, as its CEO Bob Iger has deliberated upon providing customers more options compared to a bundled-cable service to view the content of the Californian media organization including Star Wars, ESPN and its TV shows.

Past week, regulatory bodies suspended iBooks and iMovie services of Apple in China. The same authorities were responsible for the formation of new regulations in the previous month that were anticipated to put much more pressure on global entertainment amidst the campaign of President Xi Jinping to remove Western ideology from global influence, education and entertainment and promote Marxist ideology.

The US organization is making efforts to grow in the country, betting much on the rising middle class of China. Keeping a check on online content is a topmost priority for the Chinese government, which has heavily invested in a huge censorship apparatus known as the "Great Firewall." 

Many sites including Twitter, Facebook and Google are suspended, and even local social network platforms are censored to a huge extent. The authorities announced new regulations in February 2016 imposing restrictions upon what online content can be posted and who has the right to produce it.