From Bloomberg – Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU) sank to a one-year low in New York after China ordered the Internet company to remove the U.S. television show “The Big Bang Theory” from its website amid a crackdown on content considered offensive.
Shares of Sohu tumbled 6.7 percent to $54.10 yesterday, extending a four-day plunge to 14 percent. The Bloomberg index of the most-traded Chinese stocks in the U.S. slipped 1 percent to 97.17. Youku Tudou Inc. (YOKU) slumped to the lowest level since August after a search for TV show “The Good Wife” on its website generated a message saying it couldn’t be found. Baidu Inc., China’s largest Internet search engine, slid 7.4 percent.
Sohu was ordered by regulators to remove the U.S. TV show from its website, Chief Executive Officer Charles Zhang said on a conference call yesterday, after the company reported sales that trailed estimates. Chinese video sites have been aggressively buying copyrights to licensed content to win advertisers and paying members as the country’s 618 million Web users search for entertainment. Shares of online companies sank last week as China closed 110 websites and planned to revoke two of Sina Corp.’s licenses as part of a crackdown on pornography.