Company: Xinhua Sports & Entertainment Limited (XSEL), Shanghai, China
Entry Submitted By: Burson-Marsteller
Company Description: Xinhua Sports & Entertainment Limited ("XSEL"; NASDAQ: XSEL) is a leading sports and entertainment media company in China. Catering to an audience of young, upwardly mobile consumers, XSEL is well-positioned in China with its unique content and access. Through its key international partnerships, XSEL is able to offer its target audience premium sports and quality entertainment.
Nomination Category: Company/Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Single-Market Company of the Year in Asia

Nomination Title: Xinhua Sports and Entertainment Limited (XSEL)

Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Xinhua Sports & Entertainment Limited (XSEL) is one of the foremost sports and
entertainment media companies in China.  XSEL's strengths revolve around its
unique ability to offer international sports programming and high profile
entertainment content to China.  Fredy Bush has been the Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer since the company founding in November 2005.

XSEL provides premium sports and entertainment content to a variety of
multimedia platforms in China – including television, the Internet, mobile
phones, and university campuses.  Overseeing about 1,300 people – a
significantly larger team than the original 8 employees – at the Beijing
headquarters and in offices across China, Fredy continues to grow XSEL and its
position in the market.  The company, under Fredy’s management, caters to the
vast Chinese audience of young and upwardly mobile consumers.

Fredy built XSEL’s success on the idea that “content is king and access is
key.”  Recognizing that the entertainment industry had insufficient high-
quality content in the market, Fredy’s goal was to provide exclusive premium
sports content across three screens (TV, mobile phone, Internet) that attracted
revenue via advertising, sponsorships, product placement, advertising and pay
per view fees.  Fredy continues to grow XSEL’s successful model of obtaining
international content for China distribution – in 2009 and 2010, live matches
from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) will be delivered to
television, Internet and mobile platforms across the country.

Following its repositioning in sports and entertainment in early 2009, XSEL
began to offer the program, Fight Weekend, the only professional fight sports
program in China nationwide, covering international fight content, such as top
ranked boxing, world martial arts and mixed martial arts.  The program
increased its ratings by 80% in the second week of existence and continues to
grow steadily.

XSEL audience reach has grown significantly in the past 5 years.  Television
viewership is up to 400 million, from 250 million and radio audience is 218
million, nationwide, a growth of almost 100 million listeners.  The company now
provides Chinese audiences with premium content from top international sports
leagues and federations around the world.  XSEL has become the exclusive
distributor of NHL, NFL and NCAA football and basketball in China.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

•             CIB Magazine, December 2008: Profile on Fredy Bush
http://www.cibmagazine.com.cn/Features/Face_To_Face.asp?id=742&fredy_bush.html
•             Press Section, XSEL Web Site
http://www.xsel.com/en/press-release/

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:

Fredy Bush is the Chairman and CEO of XSEL. She has been at the forefront of
change in China, pioneering business opportunities for the last 18 years.  She
is also an advisor and significant shareholder of Tokyo-listed Xinhua Finance
Limited, the leading provider of China-based financial news and indices, which
Fredy established in 1999, in partnership with the Xinhua News Agency.
Previously, she ran a business consulting on multinational opportunities in
China.  Her honors include the Wall Street Journal's 50 Women to Watch (2004);
National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations’ Ellis Island Medal of Honor (2006);
CNBC's Asia Entrepreneur of the Year (2006); and American Chamber of Commerce
Hong Kong Entrepreneur of the Year – Women of Influence (2006).