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Tag: HBO Asia

  • HBO Asia and Viu announce second season of Endemol Shine Group’s The Bridge

    HBO Asia and Viu announce second season of Endemol Shine Group’s The Bridge

    MUMBAI: Viu, a leading pan-regional OTT video service from PCCW Media Group, and HBO Asia jointly announce their partnership in the second season of Viu Original’s The Bridge, which will begin shooting its second 10-episode season this year and will be simulcast on Viu and HBO Asia’s channels and services in early 2020.

    Loosely based on the second season of the original series, season two will pick up one year after where the story ended in season one.  A yacht registered in Singapore drifts ashore in Johor with a deceased Indonesian family on board. Investigating the slew of serial killings that ensue, the characters become mired in a web of treachery, deceit and personal tragedy.

    Mr. Jonathan Spink, Chief Executive Officer of HBO Asia, said, “HBO Asia is delighted to once again partner with Viu and PCCW Media Group on the second season of The Bridge. This series, an Asian adaptation of the successful licensed format, which is produced in association with Viu, will complement our growing slate of HBO Asia Original productions that are available to a global audience.”

    Ms. Janice Lee, Managing Director of PCCW Media Group, said, “Our partnership with Endemol Shine and HBO Asia on the second season of The Bridge is taking our collaboration to a higher level. We are excited to extend on the success of the first season with a storyline that resonates with audiences in Asia and take it even further by adding new elements.”

    Ms. Rashmi Bajpai, Executive Director Asia of Endemol Shine International, said, “We are thrilled about Viu's faith in renewing The Bridge. It has been a stellar example of knitting together the nuances – culturally, creatively and commercially to produce a drama that has worked in a diverse region. The commissioning of the second season reinforces our belief in the potential of scripted formats in Asia and we hope this will pave the way for many more co-productions.”

    The Bridge is licensed from global producer and distributor Endemol Shine Group. Viu is also working with longtime partner Double Vision to produce season two, as it did with the first season.

    The second season will be available on Viu in all its markets as well as on HBO Asia’s network of channels and services, including HBO, HBO GO and HBO ON DEMAND, across 24 territories.

    The Bridge was originally created and written by Hans Rosenfeldt as a joint production of Sweden's Filmlance International, part of Endemol Shine Group and Denmark's Nimbus Film. The Bridge (Bron/Broen) was produced in co-production with Sveriges Television, DR, ZDF German Television network, ZDF Enterprises Gmbh, Film i Skåne, NRK, Copenhagen Film Fund, Lumiere Group, Stiftelsen Ystad Österlen Filmfond, Norvision and in co-operation with Malmö Stad. It has aired in more than 188 territories/countries and spawned localized remakes in the U.K/France, the United States/Mexico, Germany/Austria, Russia/Estonia and Serbia/Croatia.

  • Star World Originals presents an exclusive 4-part crime documentary series

    Star World Originals presents an exclusive 4-part crime documentary series

    MUMBAI: The double murder of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj – parents acquitted, no new evidence, no new suspects – leaves many questions still unanswered.

    The Talwars – Behind Closed Doors is Star World’s first venture into investigative crime documentaries bringing its audience a pathbreaking series on the double homicide of 13-year old Aarushi Talwar and the Talwar’s domestic help Hemraj. This 4-part original series chronicles one of the most controversial trials of the century that baffled the nation as well as the police, the CBI and the Indian judiciary that will air on Star World & Hotstar beginning 26 November, every Sunday 10 pm.

    The series has been produced in association with HBO Asia and created by stellar team that comprises executive producer Sarah MacDonald, an acclaimed journalist and BAFTA winning documentary filmmaker. She has produced and directed documentaries for BBC and CNN. Her work includes groundbreaking investigations into child abuse and the Catholic Church and extraordinary rendition by the CIA, North Korea escapees. Also associated with the project is Miikka Leskinen, the Chief Editor, an award winning film editor credited with a vast body of work across film, documentary and television, garnering nearly a hundred awards including a Primetime Emmy along with Oscar and BAFTA nominations.

    “At Star, it has always been our endeavour to present differentiated content that strikes a chord with our audiences. We’re proud to present yet another Star World Originals production, this time in partnership with HBO Asia. The Talwars – Behind Closed Doors focuses on the destruction that one night of violence in May 2008 wreaked in the Talwar household. The series echoes the sentiment of the country on whether the pieces of the puzzle will ever fall in.” says a Star India spokesperson.

    This case has not only captured the imagination of the public, but shaken the conscience of the nation. Star World gives you a glimpse of what happened behind closed doors in the double murder mystery in the upscale National Capital Region of the world’s largest democracy.

  • CASBAA forms ‘Coalition Against Piracy,’ hires content protection veteran Neil Gane

    CASBAA forms ‘Coalition Against Piracy,’ hires content protection veteran Neil Gane

    MUMBAI: CASBAA has announced the formation of the Coalition Against Piracy (CAP), a major initiative to coordinate industry resources in the fight against rampant content theft.

    It has appointed Neil Gane, an industry veteran in content protection, as the general manager of CAP. Gane will direct CAP enforcement actions to disrupt, diminish and dismantle pirate enterprises across the region.

    The CAP includes leading video content creators and distributors in Asia. Members are: beIN Sports, CASBAA, The Walt Disney Company, Fox Networks Group, HBO Asia, NBCUniversal, Premier League, Turner Asia-Pacific, A&E Networks, Astro, BBC Worldwide, Media Partners Asia, National Basketball Association, PCCW Media, Sony Pictures Television Networks Asia, True Visions, TV5MONDE, and Viacom International Media Networks.

    CASBAA chief policy officer John Medeiros said, “One of CASBAA’s primary missions is to bring our members together to join the global fight against content theft. That’s what we are doing in establishing the CAP. CAP will focus on addressing the growing threat of illicit streaming devices (ISDs) and apps, which facilitate massive piracy of movies, sports, TV series and other creative video content. This does great harm to the content creation and distribution industries in Asia, as well as the millions of people who work in the creative economy around the world.”

    Gane said, “The Asia Pacific region has some of the worst rates of online piracy in the world.” Formerly with the Hong Kong Police, he has worked on content protection issues for more than a dozen years. He noted that the unprecedented growth in delivery of legal creative content over global broadband networks is being undermined by a surge in the sale of TV boxes with pre-loaded infringing applications.

    Online video and broadband distributions have the potential to be a massive economic growth engine in Asia with analysts forecasting market growth of more than 20 per cent over the next five years, benefiting consumers and creators of quality video content within Asia and around the world. But, this growth potential is threatened by piracy.

    In the past two years, there have been many new roll-outs of online content services across the Asia Pacific region, by existing players as well as new ones. Unfortunately, the likelihood of success for legitimate online content suppliers is severely reduced by online access to pirated content, resulting in the expectation of many consumers to get “something for nothing.”

    “The prevalence of ISDs across Asia is staggering. The criminals who operate the ISD networks and the pirate websites are profiting from the hard work of talented creators, seriously damaging the legitimate content ecosystem as well as exposing consumers to dangerous malware”, said Gane.

    Medeiros said, “Current legal frameworks are not adequate to handle this newly-enabled crime.” “Consumers are offered huge content bundles from overseas as if they were legal. But, receiving stolen content is wrong, and the fundamental purpose of an ISD network – with an innocent-looking box as its home node – is to monetise this redistribution of content without any recompense to those who worked to produce it.”

    “This is a highly organised transnational crime,” agreed Gane, “with criminal syndicates profiting enormously at the expense of consumers as well as content creators.”

    Mitigating the piracy threat requires international cooperation, added Medeiros, and CASBAA has established CAP to provide added support for the content and distribution companies in the worldwide fight against piracy. CAP intends to join hands with similar initiatives underway in other parts of the world, including with the newly-formed Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and in Europe where a separate coalition of broadcasters and content creators initiated by BBC and the Motion Picture Association has made great strides in information sharing and coordination.

    CASBAA CEO Christopher Slaughter said, “We are excited about the launch of CAP in Asia to enhance collaboration between different segments of the industry – distributors, aggregators, and creators – and to complement the other country-specific and global initiatives in place and starting to show results. Collaboration is key and we look forward to the success of this new program.”

    CAP will be launched officially at the forthcoming CASBAA Convention 2017, 6-8 November, at Studio City Macau, as a highlight of its robust policy and anti-piracy conference track.

  • Jonathan Spink new CASBAA board chairman

    Jonathan Spink new CASBAA board chairman

    MUMBAI: Following its first meeting on 06 December, the CASBAA Board of Directors announced that Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for the next 12 months.

    With almost three decades of experience in the pay television industry, Jonathan Spink is responsible for the overall management of HBO in South East and South Asia. Under Spink’s leadership, HBO Asia has built a growing network of standard-definition and high-definition channels and services, as well as developing several groundbreaking original local productions.

    Spink succeeds Sompan Charumilinda, Vice Chairman of TrueVisions, as Chairman of the CASBAA Board. “Khun Sompan has been a Board member for more than a decade, and most recently, served diligently in his term as Chairman of the Board,” said Spink. “On behalf of my fellow Directors and the broader membership, we thank him for his guidance and insights over the years and we look forward to his continued contribution on the Association’s Board.”

    Spink also welcomed new Directors elected during the Association’s 2016 AGM held 10 Nov in Macau; namely, Rohit D’Silva (FOX Networks Group Asia), Jonas Engwall (RTL CBS Asia Entertainment Network), Marcel Fenez (Fenez Media), Todd Miller (Celestial Tiger Entertainment), Alexandre Muller (TV5MONDE), and Andrew Stott (Olswang Asia). They join returning Directors Sompan Charumilinda (TrueVisions), Andrew Jordan (AsiaSat), Amit Malhotra (The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia), Ricky Ow (Turner International Asia Pacific), Mark Patterson (GroupM), Joe Welch (21st Century Fox), and Christopher Slaughter (CASBAA) to make up CASBAA’s Board.

    “With the multichannel TV industry in all its forms facing unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities in 2017,” Spink added, “the coming year promises to be busier than ever for CASBAA. I look forward to working with my fellow Directors and the CASBAA Executive Office to ensure that the work of the Association is relevant to all its Member companies, as they adapt to a rapidly developing operating environment.”

    Following the announcement of the Chairman and Board of Directors 2017, CASBAA CEO Christopher Slaughter highlighted the increasingly broad Membership of the Association. He noted that during 2016 several new members joined, including the Premier League, Rewind Networks, Nielsen, Strategic IP Information, Metrasat, Trilegal, and Kantar Media. Also during the year, TV5MONDE, Intelsat, RTL/CBS and INVIDI all upgraded to Patron status. “It is a delight to welcome these new additions across all our membership categories,” Slaughter said. “We are confident they will prove to be valuable additions to the CASBAA community, and we look forward to their participation in our activities and on our Committees.”

  • Jonathan Spink new CASBAA board chairman

    Jonathan Spink new CASBAA board chairman

    MUMBAI: Following its first meeting on 06 December, the CASBAA Board of Directors announced that Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for the next 12 months.

    With almost three decades of experience in the pay television industry, Jonathan Spink is responsible for the overall management of HBO in South East and South Asia. Under Spink’s leadership, HBO Asia has built a growing network of standard-definition and high-definition channels and services, as well as developing several groundbreaking original local productions.

    Spink succeeds Sompan Charumilinda, Vice Chairman of TrueVisions, as Chairman of the CASBAA Board. “Khun Sompan has been a Board member for more than a decade, and most recently, served diligently in his term as Chairman of the Board,” said Spink. “On behalf of my fellow Directors and the broader membership, we thank him for his guidance and insights over the years and we look forward to his continued contribution on the Association’s Board.”

    Spink also welcomed new Directors elected during the Association’s 2016 AGM held 10 Nov in Macau; namely, Rohit D’Silva (FOX Networks Group Asia), Jonas Engwall (RTL CBS Asia Entertainment Network), Marcel Fenez (Fenez Media), Todd Miller (Celestial Tiger Entertainment), Alexandre Muller (TV5MONDE), and Andrew Stott (Olswang Asia). They join returning Directors Sompan Charumilinda (TrueVisions), Andrew Jordan (AsiaSat), Amit Malhotra (The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia), Ricky Ow (Turner International Asia Pacific), Mark Patterson (GroupM), Joe Welch (21st Century Fox), and Christopher Slaughter (CASBAA) to make up CASBAA’s Board.

    “With the multichannel TV industry in all its forms facing unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities in 2017,” Spink added, “the coming year promises to be busier than ever for CASBAA. I look forward to working with my fellow Directors and the CASBAA Executive Office to ensure that the work of the Association is relevant to all its Member companies, as they adapt to a rapidly developing operating environment.”

    Following the announcement of the Chairman and Board of Directors 2017, CASBAA CEO Christopher Slaughter highlighted the increasingly broad Membership of the Association. He noted that during 2016 several new members joined, including the Premier League, Rewind Networks, Nielsen, Strategic IP Information, Metrasat, Trilegal, and Kantar Media. Also during the year, TV5MONDE, Intelsat, RTL/CBS and INVIDI all upgraded to Patron status. “It is a delight to welcome these new additions across all our membership categories,” Slaughter said. “We are confident they will prove to be valuable additions to the CASBAA community, and we look forward to their participation in our activities and on our Committees.”

  • HBO to premiere ‘Game of Thrones’ simultaneously in 170 countries

    HBO to premiere ‘Game of Thrones’ simultaneously in 170 countries

    MUMBAI: In an unprecedented move, Game of Thrones will premiere in over 170 countries and territories across the globe simultaneously with HBO’s US airing on 12 April.

     

    The entire fifth season of the Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody-winning series will be simulcast to HBO branded networks and broadcast partners across the world, creating a global television event week after week throughout the season’s 10-episode run.

     

    “We are thrilled to see our international partners jumping on board to bring Game of Thrones, one of the most universally loved television shows in the world, to global audiences at the same time it airs on HBO in the US. It’s going to be a great season,” said HBO programming president Michael Lombardo.

     

     Indian fans too can rejoice as it is one of the 170 countries across the globe where the upcoming season of the hit series is going to premiere simultaneously with HBO’s U.S. airing on 13 April at 6 30 am IST on HBO Defined, with following episodes on subsequent Mondays at the same time. The repeat telecast of the fifth season will be on Monday’s at 10 pm on HBO Defined.

     

    HBO India managing director Monica Tata commented “We are thrilled to bring Season 5 of Game of Thrones, one of the most iconic HBO Original TV shows, to Indian audiences at the same time as the U.S. airing,”. Tata added that it was their way of thanking the premium subscribers of HBO Defined for supporting them in making the channel a success.

     

    Among those participating are the HBO branded networks: HBO Asia, HBO Canada, HBO Europe, HBO Latin America, HBO Netherlands and HBO Nordic.

     

    Also included are international “Home of HBO” services including: Africa/M-Net, Australia/Foxtel, Belgium(Flemish)/Telenet, France/Orange, Iceland/365 Media, Israel/DBS, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia and SKY New Zealand.  

     

    HBO licensing partners in the simulcast include: Belgium(French)/Betv, Greece/Intervision, Russia/Amedia and Spain/DTS.

     

    Since its debut Game of Thrones has become a worldwide phenomenon and the most popular series in HBO history. Last year, the series was the most searched television show worldwide on Google and the #1 most talked about show on Facebook in the US.

     

    Game of Thrones is based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series A Song Of Ice and Fire, where political and sexual intrigue abound as seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. The epic series, with storylines of treachery and nobility, family and honor, ambition and love, and death and survival, has captured the imagination of fans globally and become one of the most popular shows on television.

  • HBO to launch broadband streaming service in Hong Kong

    HBO to launch broadband streaming service in Hong Kong

    MUMBAI: HBO Asia has announced the Asia launch of HBO Go to now TV‘s HBO subscribers in Hong Kong.

    HBO Go, a new broadband streaming service, enables subscribers to enjoy over 1,000 hours of HBO Original content on multiple devices including PCs, MACs, tablets and mobile devices (iOS and Android) anywhere, anytime. The service includes new episodes of shows such as ‘Game of Thrones‘, ‘The Newsroom‘, ‘True Blood‘ and ‘Veep‘ 12 hours after being shown in the US.

    Winner of the Best On-Demand Solution at IBC 2012 in Amsterdam, HBO Go will make its Asian debut in Hong Kong on 28 February exclusively and free to now TV‘s HBO subscribers.

    HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink said, “HBO GO is a versatile service enabling subscribers to maximise their HBO entertainment across multiple devices, whether at home or on the move, and Hong Kong subscribers of our long-term exclusive partner, now TV, are the first to enjoy this brand new broadband streaming service. With over 1,000 hours of quality HBO Original content to choose from, HBO GO subscribers will be spoilt for choice and can also watch the latest HBO shows 12 hours after US telecast. This helps combat piracy and gives subscribers an opportunity to catch the newest episodes of their favourite shows earlier.”

    PCCW MD TV, new media Janice Lee said, “We are excited to be the first in Asia to offer HBO Go and our customers will soon be able to access HBO‘s great movies and TV series anytime and anywhere. HBO Go complements our hugely popular now Player and other mobile apps for enjoying on-the-go content. With more than 1.4 million downloads of our apps, users are able to enjoy more than 25 live channels and 80 on-demand programmes.

    HBO GO subscribers will have access to current HBO Original series as well as past series like ‘Band of Brothers‘, ‘Sex and the City‘, ‘The Sopranos‘ and ‘Rome‘ plus HBO movies, documentaries, comedies, family content, entertainment specials and more.

    “HBO Go is packed with features all giving maximum choice to the subscriber. We will continue to update HBO Go with new features, for example, in addition to streaming content on HBO GO, downloading of content will be made available in the third quarter of 2013,” added Spink.

  • HBO Asia’s James Marturano retires; Chua to replace

    HBO Asia’s James Marturano retires; Chua to replace

    MUMBAI: HBO Asia executive vice president and HBO South Asia managing director James Paul Marturano has retired, thus ending his two decade long tenure at the company.

    Marturano will be succeeded by HBO Asia senior vice president sales and marketing Suarina Chua, who has been with the company for the last 12 years. She joined HBO in 1994.

    Marturano will continue to work with HBO as a consultant. He played an integral role in establishing the channel in Asia. HBO is now available in 22 countries across the Asian region.

    HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink said, “Jim has been a pivotal figure in driving the company’s long term growth in the region since our operations began in 1992. There’s nobody who’s done as much for the growth and development of HBO Asia. He leaves behind a significant legacy.”

    As executive vice president of HBO Asia, Marturano headed the sales and marketing division and also looked after the company’s business development. He was also responsible for managing the operations of HBO ventures in South Asia that included India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives.

    Beginning his tenure with HBO in 1986, Marturano relocated to Singapore in October 1991 as director, international operations, and was responsible for overseeing the developmental work for the HBO Asia project. He was promoted to vice-president, sales and marketing in April 1992 and as senior vice-president, sales and marketing, for HBO Asia in January 1997, overseeing the distribution and marketing of HBO and Cinemax throughout Asia.