New avtaar HBO for South Asia launched

Now here's a channel that will definitely give Star movies a run for its money. Come 1 September and Home Box Office or HBO as it is popularly known will air movies as a new entity in South Asia.

The new entity will have four of the worlds biggest studios with an equal stake in the venture. These studios banners include Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures.

With a library from all these banners available, the channel promises that there will be 52 new premiers throughout the year - one every week.

HBO was launched in India earlier this year on March 27. But then it had a very limited library because of a standoff between Turner and Sony Entertainment Television. The latter had insisted that it be given the distribution and ad sales contract for the channel in India. Otherwise, it would not part with its Columbia/Tristar library for the Indian HBO channel.

But then Sony decided that it would put an end to the quarreling and withdraw its distribution and marketing bid, thus allowing its library to be used for the India service. The other two participating companies also concurred thus lifting the obstacles for the launch of the mega-movie channel in the region.

According to channel officials, these changes would not result in a rise in the cable rate per subscriber, which currently is Rs 6. The channel will also introduce ad slots. HBO till now was an ad free movie channel.

The new channel will be a feast for the couch potatoes with an impressive line up of movies like Godzilla, The Mask of Zoro, Forest Gump, The Trueman Show and the likes.



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