HBO Asia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HBO
HBO logo.svg
Country
Broadcast area
NetworkHBO
Headquarters151 Lorong Chuan, New Technology Park 04-05, Serangoon Gardens, Singapore
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 anamorphic widescreen or letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerHBO Asia Pte Ltd (WarnerMedia International)
Sister channels
History
Launched1 May 1992; 29 years ago (1992-05-01)
ReplacedRed by HBO (SatLite Only, Philippines)
Former namesMovieVision
(1 May 1992-31 May 1995)
Links
WebsiteOfficial website
HBO Asia Pte Ltd.
TypePte Ltd
Founded1 May 1992; 29 years ago (1992-05-01)
Headquarters151 Lorong Chuan, New Technology Park 04-05, Serangoon Gardens,
Singapore
Area served
Asia
ProductsMovie production, TV production, Broadcasting, Cable television
OwnerWarnerMedia International (WarnerMedia/AT&T)
Websitehboasia.com

HBO Asia is the pan-Asian division of HBO. It was originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, later rebranding on 1 June 1995 to its current name after being purchased by Home Box Office, Inc. The Singapore-based broadcast network offers channels and services with no advertisements– HBO, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Hits, Cinemax and Red – as well as HBO Go and HBO on Demand. HBO Asia is also the exclusive distributor of BabyFirst in Asia.[1]

Programming[]

HBO Asia has first run and licensing deals with four major Hollywood studios: Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, and Paramount Pictures., in addition to its proprietary HBO Original programmes. It also licenses content from DC Entertainment, MGM, Lionsgate, Relativity Media, Millennium Films, Castle Rock Entertainment, CBS Films, Europacorp, FilmNation Entertainment, Focus Features, IM Global, Morgan Creek, New Line Cinema, Paramount Classics, Screen Gems, Sony Picture Classics, Village Roadshow, and Warner Independent Pictures.

  • HBO Central is a monthly program giving information about which movies and series will be shown in the coming month.
  • New seasons of HBO's Original Series or Original Productions air on Sunday nights.

Censorship[]

HBO Asia was heavily censored in Asia, with many shows such as Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Entourage, The Wire, Hung, Girls, True Blood, Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire aired in edited versions; certain programmes are not shown in some territories at all. This has been liberalised to an extent in recent years.[2][3][4]

The HBO-made series Entourage was taken off-air for three weeks by one cable operator in the Philippines, pending clearance by the MTRCB.[citation needed] The entire series continued to air without disruption on all other Philippines cable operators.

In Vietnam, every movie with content which is considered to oppose or distort the American War, the Communist Party of Vietnam or Communism in general is replaced by another film. In addition, if the Ministry of Culture and Information considers a movie has contents of a serious sexual or horrific nature not conforming with Vietnamese society, it will not be aired.[citation needed]

Output that feature visuals such as the middle finger, nudity, passionate intimacy, graphic violence and injury details are cut out.

In China, due to Western product restrictions, and the China-United States trade war, HBO was blocked and restricted, and the replacement is currently Tencent Video and iQIYI.[citation needed]

Other channels[]

Network Description Website
HBO Hits Shows hits and blockbuster films Official site
HBO Hits HD Shows hits and blockbuster films in High Definition.
HBO Family Shows family oriented films and series Official site
HBO Shows Hollywood films and HBO Original series Official site
HBO HD Shows Hollywood movies and HBO Originals in High Definition
HBO On Demand Shows the best Hollywood films and outstanding HBO Originals at your control Official site
HBO Signature Shows critically acclaimed and original productions Official site
Cinemax Shows action and suspense movies Official site
BabyFirst 24-hour channel for babies and infants distributed by HBO Asia Official site

HBO South Asia[]

HBO South Asia
CountryIndia
Broadcast area
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
(downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerWarnerMedia International[5] (As of 2019)
Turner International India (earlier)
Sister channels
History
Launched22 March 2000
Closed15 December 2020
Links
Websitehbosouthasia.com

HBO formerly aired a separate feed with commercial breaks for viewers in India, Bangladesh and Maldives. All movie promos in this beam are according to IST. Another feed for Pakistan was launched in partnership with ARY Digital Network. The schedule was same as the Indian feed with the difference being the commercial breaks and timings in PST.

Before the launch of HBO South Asia, HBO tried replicating the premium model in India. But then HBO decided it wasn't commercially viable so the South Asia channel was launched in India and also in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Maldives.[6]

HBO Asia and Eros International launched HBO Defined and HBO Hits across India on 21 February 2013 on Dish TV and Airtel Digital TV. These channels are commercial-free. The content of both the channels include movies as well as most of HBO Original Programming. When the channels launched, the main HBO channel stopped airing original series.[7]

In 2015, HBO had decided to exit the Indian market and license the channel to Turner International India.[8] The channel was revamped in February 2016 after a survey conducted by the channel team to better suit the masses.[9][10] HBO Defined and HBO Hits would be handled by Star India, however HBO Defined and HBO Hits SD was shut down on 31 December 2015 while HBO Hits HD was replaced by HBO HD on 4 September 2016.[11] It only airs Hollywood movies, as Star India has the rights to HBO Original Programming which are available on Star World and Disney+ Hotstar.[12]

WarnerMedia International announced on 15 October 2020 that HBO South Asia and WB Channel would close down on 15 December 2020. The HBO channel would no longer be available in India and Pakistan after this date, while WB Channel ceased to exist in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Maldives.[13]

HBO India had closed down at midnight with the last movie on the SD channel being Mad Max: Fury Road (completed 1 hour before the shutdown) and the last movie on the HD channel being Memoirs of a Geisha. HBO Pakistan was also closed down at midnight.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "HBO Asia strikes agreement to represent BabyFirst, WarnerTV across Asia". Television Asia. 1 December 2009.
  2. ^ "A Race to Satisfy TV Appetites in Asia". The New York Times. 23 May 1993. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Singapore lifts Sex and City ban". BBC News. 16 July 2004. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Winter is Coming: Game of Thrones on HBO Asia". 28 August 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  5. ^ Roy, Tasmayee Laha (5 March 2020). "Pogo & Cartoon Network go local with India Originals". Exchange4media. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  6. ^ OSBORNE, MAGZ. "HBO Asia May Expand Ad-Supported Approach". Multichannel. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  7. ^ "HBO Defined and HBO Hits go on-air". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  8. ^ Kohli-Khandekar, Vanita (19 December 2014). "Is HBO giving up on its India market?". Business Standard India. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  9. ^ "HBO India gets branding, packaging revamp". afaqs!. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  10. ^ Malvania, Urvi (24 February 2016). "HBO moves from niche to mass". Business Standard India. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  11. ^ "#Experience The Magic with HBO HD!". Turner. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Fox's Star India Strikes Exclusive Deal for HBO Originals". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  13. ^ Team, AnimationXpress (15 October 2020). "WarnerMedia to cease HBO and WB TV channels in South Asia by 2020 end; to invest more on kids channels". AnimationXpress. Retrieved 15 October 2020.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""