Tsinghua buys 40 pct of China Web TV firm BesTV

SHANGHAI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - BesTV, China's largest provider of Internet Protocol TV, said on Thursday it had agreed to sell a 40 percent stake to Tsinghua Tongfang Co Ltd (600100.SS) for 150 million yuan ($21.1 million).

BesTV, a Web TV service run jointly by Shanghai Media Group and fixed-line telecoms carrier China Telecom Corp, said in a statement Tsinghua's strong market position would help expand BesTV's reach, confirming what a source familiar with the situation told Reuters earlier on Thursday.

SMG is China's second-largest media group by revenue after state-run China Central Television. (Reporting by Sophie Taylor; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=7.117 Yuan)