Sina Considering to Launch New “Service Platform Provider”

Weibo, a microblogging platform of China’s largest internet media company, Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) is contemplating to introduce “service platform provider”, a third party microblog marketing service provider, according to a report released by Marbridge Consulting.

The new platform will help conducting daily operations, microblog design, sales promotions, data analysis, and training and consulting services. Already the new platform has been opened to its service providers.

Just last month, Sina Weibo introduced  ”Wei Renwu” (“Micro Task”), a task platform which allows  enterprise accounts to support other Weibo users to post or re-post commercial updates through their own Weibo accounts.

Wei Renwu generates revenues by means of a profit sharing arrangement with participating Weibo accounts.

The platform gets a 30 percent cut, referred as platform usage fees, from payments for sponsored updates. The latest platform for service providers may adopt a similar revenue sharing model.

Sina, which makes most of the revenue through online advertising on its website and microblogging site, Weibo, is going through a difficult phase this year as advertisers slashed their promotional and marketing budgets in the backdrop of growing macroeconomic uncertainty.

Earlier in November, the company reported its fiscal third quarter results that topped Street’s estimate but it provided a lackluster outlook on the current quarter.

Sina had reported net profit of $9.9 million against a loss of $336.3 million in the year earlier quarter while analysts’ consensual estimate was for earnings of $7.5 million.

For the fourth quarter, the company is now expecting net revenue to come in the range of $132 million to $136 million while revenue from advertising is expected to increase between 6 % to 8% percent from the year earlier period. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecasted revenue of $151.9 million.

Analysts had said that recent wrangling between China and Japan over few isolated islands, located in East China Sea could have hurt Company’s website advertising sales as Japanese firms, mostly automobile makers, cut advertising in China.