HBO (Asia)
| HBO | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | 1 May 1992 |
| Network | HBO |
| Owned by |
Home Box Office Inc. (Time Warner) (75%) Viacom (25%) via holding company HBO Asia Pte Ltd |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Slogan | It's Not TV, It's HBO. |
| Country | Singapore |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | Philippines, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam |
| Headquarters | 151 Lorong Chuan, New Technology Park 04-05, Serangoon Gardens, Singapore |
| Formerly called |
MovieVision (1 May 1992-31 May 1995) |
| Replaced |
MovieVision (1 May 1992-31 May 1995) |
| Sister channel(s) | Cinemax, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Hits, HBO On Demand, Screen Red |
| Timeshift service | HBO HD (1-hour earlier) |
| Website | hboasia.com |
Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Tata Sky (India) | Channel 345 |
| Astro (Malaysia) | Channel 411 (HBO Asia), Channel 431 (HBO HD Asia) |
| Indovision (Indonesia) | Channel 7 (HBO Asia), Channel 401 (HBO HD) |
| Okevision (Indonesia) | Channel 1 |
| aora TV Satelit (Indonesia) | Channel 216 (HBO HD), Channel 216 (HBO Asia) |
| TelkomVision (Indonesia) | Channel 25 |
| OrangeTV (Indonesia) | Channel 150 (HBO Asia) |
| TrueVisions (Thailand) | Channel 223 (HBO HD Asia) |
| Dialog TV (Sri Lanka) | Channel 20 |
| Cignal Digital TV (Philippines) | Channel 71 (HBO Asia), Channel 102 (HBO HD Asia) |
| HBO Ary digital (Pakistan) | Channel 10 |
| DishHD Asia (Taiwan) | Channel 604 |
| Dream Satellite TV (Philippines) | Channel 19 |
| Dish TV (India) | Channel 413 |
| Airtel Digital TV (India) | Channel 191 |
| Big TV (India) | Channel 355 |
| Videocon D2H (India) | Channel 245 |
| Sun Direct (India) | Channel 402 |
| One TV (Cambodia) | Channel 28 |
| Dialog TV (Sri Lanka) | Channel 61 |
| Cable | |
| SkyCable (Philippines) |
Channel 54 (Digital) (HBO Asia) Channel 166 (HBO HD Asia) |
| Destiny Cable (Philippines) |
Channel 39 (Analog) (HBO Asia) Channel 54 (SD Digital) (HBO Asia) Channel 166 (HD Digital) (HBO HD Asia) |
| StarHub TV (Singapore) | Channel 601 (HBO Asia), Channel 655 (HBO HD Asia) |
| First Media (Indonesia) | Channel 285 (HBO HD Asia ), Channel 301 (HBO HD) |
| TrueVisions (Thailand) | Channel 223 (HBO HD Asia) |
| United Communication Service (Bangladesh) | Channel 31 (HBO Asia), Channel 54 (HBO India) |
| HCaTV (Vietnam) | Channel 63 |
| HTVC (Vietnam) | Channel 20 |
| Tay Do CaTV (Vietnam) | Channel 03 |
| Parasat Cable TV (Philippines) | Channel 43 |
| Macau Cable TV (Macau) | Channel 46 |
| IPTV | |
| now TV (Hong Kong) | Channel 110 (HBO HD Asia), Channel 115 (HBO Asia) |
| Nexmedia (Indonesia) | Channel 3 |
| Groovia TV (Indonesia) | Channel 601 (HBO Asia), Channel 901 (HBO HD Asia) |
HBO Asia (formerly known as MovieVision it was officially launched on 1 May 1992 and officially dissolved on 31 May 1995) is owned by HBO (a Time Warner company). The Singapore-based broadcast network offers a bouquet of channels and services including 24-hour commercial-free subscription movie channels in standard-definition and high-definition – 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
History
- 1 May 1992
- HBO Asia was originally known as MovieVision all national movie bioscope commonly fully blockbuster movie premiere was national major film studio production department by Warner Bros Pictures a member of Warner Bros Entertainment and Paramount Pictures a member of Paramount Motion Pictures Group and owner by Viacom is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) it was officially launched an 18-hours in daily by 30-home movie cable channel in Southeast Asia securing carriage on Singapore Cable Vision in Singapore.
- The Singapore English-language service is distributed via Palapa B2P.
- On 1 June, MovieVision successfully completes its first movie transmission from Singapore with title "Heaven Help Us".
- On 21 September, MovieVision successfully completes its first movie transmission from its regional headquarters at New Tech Park, Singapore with title "Cross Current".
- 1993
- HBO's regional headquarters is officially opened at New Tech Park by Singapore's Minister for Information and the Arts, Brigadier-General George Yeo. HBO, TVB, ESPN, Turner Broadcasting System, and American Broadcasting Company announce a broadcasters' alliance.
- HBO becomes available in The Philippines and Thailand.
- 1994
- MovieVision launches in Republic of China.
- After 20-months on air, MovieVision shifts to a fully programmed 24-hour service.
- In a landmark deal, MovieVision concludes exclusive licensing deals with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Universal Studios, who also become equity partners. The 4-MovieVision Asia partner studios jointly claim 19 of the top 25-films released in the United States during 1993 and 1994.
- MovieVision becomes available in Indonesia.
- 1995
- On 1 June, MovieVision was renamed to becomes HBO Asia.
- HBO adds Indonesian language subtitles to its full broadcast schedules in addition to closed-captioned subtitles for Thailand and Republic of China that were made available in 1994.
- HBO becomes available in Hong Kong and Malaysia and launches in 3-star and above standard hotels and foreign housing compounds in People's Republic of China.
- 1996
- The Walt Disney Company subsidiaries, Hollywood Pictures and Touchstone Pictures become exclusive HBO Asia suppliers.
- With its lead movie channel in a strong position, HBO Asia launches Cinemax, a channel for a wide range of entertaining movies. Agreements are soon signed with operators in Singapore, Republic of China, Thailand and the Philippines.
- HBO launches on Astro in Malaysia.
- 1997
- Dan Murrell becomes HBO Asia's Managing Director, replacing CEO and President Bill Hooks who returns to HBO in New York City after five years at the helm.
- HBO Asia celebrates its 5th anniversary.
- HBO expands to 18 Asian territories.
- 1998
- HBO Asia is granted Ministry of Radio, Film and Television approval to distribute its Cinemax channel in People's Republic of China to three-star and above standard hotels and foreign housing compounds.
- In January, HBO Asia commences distribution of HBO and Cinemax to hotels in Vietnam.
- Cinemax Asia launched on Astro in Malaysia it was transformations form Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
- HBO Asia signs an exclusive deal with DreamWorks.
- HBO Asia and Cinemax Asia launch in Sri Lanka.
- 1999
- HBO Asia opens a representative office in Republic of China.
- Dan Murrell is appointed CEO and President of HBO Asia.
- 2000
- Cinemax Asia launched in Hong Kong as a premium service, alongside HBO.
- HBO South Asia service is launched in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Maldives. The HBO channel in India and Maldives is ad-supported.
- James Marturano is appointed Executive Vice President of HBO Asia and HBO South Asia’s Managing Director.
- 2001
- HBO premieres the most expensive HBO Original Production ever, Band Of Brothers, across Asia. Based on the best-selling novel by the late-historian Stephen Ambrose, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were executive producers for the ten-part World War II miniseries.
- For the second year in a row, HBO sweeps top honours in a trade survey reinforcing HBO as cable operators’ top choice for programming, sales and marketing, on-air look, viewer feedback, value for money and most popular channel.
- 2002
- HBO Asia celebrates its 10th anniversary.
- HBO Asia launches Asian's first fully 'tapeless' system, one that fully digitalizes and archives its extensive library of movies and promotional on-air materials.
- 2003
- In March, Cinemax Asia relaunches to be Asia's most exciting movie channel for hits, action and suspense movies, complete with new tagline of 'Get Into The Movies' and a brand-new on-air identity.
- HBO channel receives the prestigious Superbrands® Award in Singapore.
- HBO is voted as Asia's best cable and movie channel by cable operators across the region.
- 2004
- 2005
- In January, HBO Asia is the first programmer to have a five-hour block programming in People's Republic of China on China Central Television.
- As part of its multi-channel strategy, HBO Asia launches its first additional HBO channel - HBO Signature, in April 2005.
- This is the first additional HBO channel that will be offered to subscribers in premium markets as a cluster of multi-channel services.
- In August, HBO Asia signs an exclusive deal with PCCW's Now TV in Hong Kong.
- In September, HBO launches into residential homes in Vietnam through distributor, Q.net, which distributes to local operators, including Ho Chi Minh City Television, VTC, VCTV, SCTV and K+.
- HBO premieres the second most expensive series in television history, the HBO Original Series Rome that was produced at US$100 million.
- 2006
- HBO Asia increases the number of channels under its multi-channel bouquet with the launch of HBO Family and HBO Hits, which are distributed first through nowTV in Hong Kong.
- HBO Signature, HBO Family and HBO Hits are launched in the Philippines as part of The HBO/MAX Pak through SkyCable.
- In May, HBO Signature, HBO Family and HBO Hits launched for the first time in Republic of China.
- In July, HBO Signature, HBO Family and HBO Hits are launched in Singapore as part of THE HBO PAK through StarHub Cable Vision.
- 2007
- In February, HBO Asia launches HBO On Demand, the company’s first Hollywood subscription movie on demand service in Asia and the company’s first Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) service, to THE HBO MAX PAK PREMIUM subscribers on nowTV in Hong Kong.
- In July, HBO Signature, HBO Family and HBO Hits launched for the first time in Thailand as part of the HBO Package through TrueVisions and also in Sri Lanka on Dialog TV and Lanka Broadband Networks.
- HBO Asia celebrates its 15th anniversary.
- 2008
- HBO takes majority stake in HBO Asia. Previously jointly held by HBO, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment, HBO Asia under the new equity structure is owned by HBO and Paramount Pictures.
- HBO continues to lead in Asia as the top-ranked channel with the best programming quality, on-air promotions, as well as sales and marketing support, as voted by pay television operators across the region according to the 2008 Asia Pacific Pay TV survey by Fusion Consulting.
- HBO On Demand is made available to subscribers of THE HBO PAK in Singapore through StarHub TV.
- 2009
- Cinemax refreshes as Max, a channel dedicated to action, suspense and science-fiction programs targeted at men.
- Mandarin subtitling is offered in addition to Malaysian for HBO subscribers in Malaysia. HBO is the first movie channel to offer dual subtitling in Malaysia.
- HBO is offered on the newly launched direct-to-home pay television operator in the Philippines, Cignal Digital TV
- Papua New Guinea’s HiTron Pty Ltd and Cambodia's Royal Group add three of HBO Asia’s multiplex channels, HBO Signature, HBO Family and HBO HiTS, to their existing HBO channel offerings.
- All 5-HBO Asia multiplex channels launch on Mongolia's Dish TV while in Indonesia, Indovision adds HBO Family and HBO Hits to their existing three HBO Asia channel offerings
- All 3-HBO Asia's multiplex channels, HBO Signature, HBO Family and HBO Hits are added to Palau National Communications Corporation (PNCC)’s channel offerings, HBO and MAX in Palau.
- HBO retains overall lead for the third year running in the 2009 Pay TV Operators Survey conducted by Fusion Consulting and ContentAsia. HBO tops the movies genre, overall marketing and sales support, positive feedback from subscribers and best value for money categories.
- HBO is the first regional movie channel to broadcast in high definition in Asia in October. HBO HD launches on nowTV in Hong Kong, StarHub TV in Singapore, Cignal Digital TV in the Philippines, and on kbro in Republic of China.
- The television premiere of Kung Fu Panda is available for the first time in dual audio languages in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
- HBO Asia becomes the exclusive distributing agent for Warner Channel and BabyFirst in the Asia-Pacific region.
- HBO HD launches on Astro in Malaysia in December.
- 2010
- In April, "The Pacific", the highly anticipated companion piece produced by the award-winning team behind the Emmy® winning HBO Original mini-series, "Band of Brothers", premieres on HBO less than three weeks after the US premiere.
- All movies on HBO during the Chinese New Year weekend are available in dual sound in selected territories. From the weekend starting February 20, all 9:00 pm (SIN) movies on HBO are available in dual sound in selected territories.
- HBO HD launches in Thailand on TrueVisions in May and in Indonesia on First Media in August. First Media adds RED to their channel offerings in August.
- HBO retains overall lead for the fourth year running in the 2010 Pay TV Operators Survey conducted by Global Intelligence Alliance Group (the former Fusion Consulting) and ContentAsia. HBO tops in terms of programming quality, the movies genre and best value for money categories.
- Screen Red, Warner Channel and BabyFirst launch on Telekom Malaysia in October.
- Warner Channel launches in Republic of China on DishHD in September.
- Screen Red is distributed across various parts of The Philippines with Cable Boss.
- HBO Asia wins two Gold (Best Logo Design for RED and Best Collateral for The Pacific) and two Silver awards (Best Print for Chick Flicks campaign and Something For Nothing for Cinemax War Movies stunt) at the PromaxBDA Asia 2010 Awards.
- HBO HD launches in Sri Lanka in December.
- 2011
- HBO HD launches in Vietnam.
- HBO Asia increases its high-definition channel offering to two with HBO Hits HD which delivers Hollywood blockbuster hits 24-hours in daily, commercial-free in 100% true high-definition television. HBO Hits HD mirrors the programming on HBO Hits HD and is available in Indonesia on First Media In this same month, Screen Red is also launched on Global Destiny Cable in the Philippines. In Malaysia, prime-time programs on HBO shift by an hour to 10:00 pm.
- HBO Hits HD is also available in Singapore on StarHub TV and in Republic of China on several cable and satellite operators. In Malaysia, selected Sunday prime-time movies are now available in dual language.
- The prime time for HBO is shifted to 10:00 pm (9:00 pm Thai/JKT) while prime time for HBO Family shifted to 7:00 pm (6:00 pm Thai/JKT). In addition to Sunday prime-time movies, Saturday prime-time movies are also available in dual language in Malaysia. HBO On Demand launches in Vietnam.
- 2012
- HBO Asia celebrates its 20th anniversary.
- HBO Asia strengthens content for 2012 with more than 140 hours of original programming, a 40% increase in original series compared to 2011.
- The television premiere of The Bodyguard is available for the first time in dual audio languages in United States and Canada while full broadcast schedules in addition to closed-captioned subtitles in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Republic of China.
- HBO Asia jointly develops Dead Mine, the first original co-production with Infinite Frameworks.
- In May, HBO Asia migrates all HBO Services on satellite Apstar 2R (also known as Telstar 10) to Apstar 7.
- In June, HBO Original movie Hemingway & Gellhorn premieres on HBO just days after its US premiere.
- HBO expands its High Definition Channels by adding HBO Family HD and HBO Signature HD. This services is currently available through First Media subscribers in Indonesia[1][2]
- 2013
- HBO Asia and nowTV officially launch HBO GO in Hong Kong on February 28 for HBO Super Pak subscribers.
- HBO Asia and Eros International launch India's first 100% advertising free channels - HBO Hits and HBO Defined in Standard Definition and High Definition - on February 21, 2013 with two DTH operators Dish TV and Airtel Digital TV under the banner of Home Box Office India Pvt. Ltd.
- In May, HBO Signature, HBO Hits and HBO Family launch in Malaysia on the Astro B.yond IPTV platform.
- HBO Asia wins gold and silver awards at the 2013 PromaxBDA Promotion, Marketing and Design Global Excellence Awards held in Los Angeles on 20 June
- In August, HBO Asia records and presents the movie, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, with a Bahasa Indonesia / Bahasa Malaysia audio option for the first time in Indonesia and Singapore, with regional celebrities lending their voices to the characters.
- HBO Asia’s first prime-time drama series "Serangoon Road" premieres on 22 September. A co-production with Australia’s ABC TV, this ten episode hour-long fast-paced detective drama series set against the exotic, tumultuous backdrop of 1960s Singapore and stars Hollywood’s Joan Chen, Australia’s Don Hany, Hollywood-based Singaporean, Chin Han, Indonesian Ario Bayu, Singaporeans Alaric Tay and Pamelyn Chee, and many more.
- In October, HBO Asia’s distribution increases to 23 territories with HBO/HBO HD and Cinemax launching in Myanmar. Screen RED launches in Thailand and Myanmar.
- In the same month, Cinemax and RED launch in high definition; all of HBO Asia’s channels are now available in high definition.
- From November, new HBO Originals premiere in Asia within one week of their debut in the United States
- In December, HBO Defined and HBO Hits launch on India’s leading DTH platform, TataSky, increasing the channels’ distribution across 11 leading DTH and digital cable platforms in India
Slogans
- 1992–2009: Simply The Best
- 2009–present: It's Not TV, It's HBO.
Programming
HBO Asia has licensing deals with four major Hollywood conglomerates Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Bros, in addition to its proprietary HBO Original programmes. It also licences content from The Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Marvel Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Lucasfilm, MGM Studios, Lionsgate, Relativity Media, Millennium Films, Castle Rock Entertainment, CBS, Europacorp, FilmNation Entertainment, Focus Features, IM Global, Morgan Creek, New Line, Paramount Classics, Screen Gems, Sony Picture Classics, Village Roadshow, and Warner Independent Pictures.
- A new movie is usually premiered on Saturday night.
- 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 is heavily censored in South East 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.[3][4][5]
- The HBO-made series Entourage was taken off-air for three weeks by one cable operator in the Philippines pending clearance by MTRCB. 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 Vietnam War, the Vietnam Communist Party or Communism is replaced by a black screen or 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.
Other channels
| Network | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| HBO Hits | Shows hits and blockbuster films | Official site |
| HBO Defined | Shows premiere and blockbuster films | Official site |
| HBO Hits HD | Shows hits and blockbuster films in High Definition. | Official site |
| HBO Family | Shows family oriented films | Official site |
| HBO | Shows Hollywood films and HBO Original series | Official site |
| HBO HD | Shows Hollywood movies and HBO Originals in superb clear pictures | |
| HBO On Demand | Shows the best Hollywood films and outstanding HBO Originals at your control | Official site |
| HBO Signature | Shows critically acclaimed productions | Official site |
| Cinemax | Shows action and suspense movies | Official site |
| Screen Red | HBO Asia's brand new 24-hour, Asian movie channel | Official site |
HBO South Asia
India
HBO airs a separate feed with commercial breaks for viewers in South Asia. The channel is labeled as HBO South Asia and often referred to as HBO India since it specifically caters to the Indian market. All movie promos in this beam are according to IST The channel is also available to viewers in Bangladesh and the Maldives. HBO South Asia took over the rights for DreamWorks Productions movies from STAR Movies in June 2008.
HBO Asia and Eros International launched HBO Defined and HBO Hits across India on February 21, 2013 on Dish TV and Airtel Digital TV. These channels are commercial-free and available in both SD and HD formats. The content of both the channels include movies as well as HBO Original Programming.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, HBO is available as HBO Pakistan. It is a simulcast of HBO India with slight modifications and running in PST. Diwali ads and other adverts targeted towards India are filtered out in this beam, and are replaced with promos and ads targeting Pakistan.
Malaysia
Main article: Astro Citra
In Malaysia, HBO is available as Astro Citra. This channel comes local & international movie and comes with Malay & English subtitles.
Availability
- Malaysia
- Astro
- Philippines
- Hong Kong
- Indonesia
- First Media
- IndosatM2
- TelkomVision
- Indovision
- aora TV Satelit
- Groovia TV
- Singapore
- China
- CITV China
- Macau
- Macau Cable TV
- Thailand
- TrueVisions (also available in Cambodia and Laos)
- Taiwan
- CNS Total TV
- DishHD Asia
- Vietnam
- VTC's Cable television and Electronics Company (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)
- Saigon Tourist (SCTV)
- Ho Chi Minh Cable Television - HTVC (Ho Chi Minh City)
- Ha Noi Cable Television - HCaTV (Ha Noi)
- Vietnam Cable Television - VTVcab
- Bangladesh
- Maldives
- Pakistan
- PTCL Smart TV
- India
- Tata Sky
- Dish TV
- Airtel digital TV
- Reliance Digital TV
- Videocon d2h
- Sun Direct
- Sri Lanka
- DialogTV
- Lanka Broadband Networks
- PEO TV
See also
References
- ↑ http://jkt.firstmedia.com/channels/hbo-family-hd
- ↑ http://jkt.firstmedia.com/channels/hbo-signature-hd
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/23/business/a-race-to-satisfy-tv-appetites-in-asia.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3900241.stm
- ↑ http://www.herebegeeks.com/tv/game-of-thrones-on-hbo-asia-tonight/