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HBO Go to make Asian debut on Now TV
MUMBAI: Movie channel HBO Asia will soon be launching a new Internet streaming service known as HBO GO in Asia.
HBO Go allows subscribers to enjoy HBO Original programmes 12 hours after the US across multiple devices including laptops, tablets and smartphones, anytime, anywhere.
Hong Kong‘s now TV will be the first broadcaster in Asia to launch HBO Go in the first quarter of 2013.
HBO Go draws on a vast library of around 1,000 hours of HBO Original programmes including series, films and other special programming such as documentaries, entertainment specials, family content and stand-up comedy.
Exciting lineup of programmes include the latest seasons of series, ‘Game Of Thrones‘, ‘Girls‘, ‘True Blood‘ and ‘Veep‘. Subscribers will be able to select what they want to watch on the device of their choice, giving more control to the viewer.
HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink said, “This announcement further demonstrates HBO Asia‘s commitment to introducing value-added services that provide flexibility, compelling content, and increased customer satisfaction. HBO Go will meet the demand of changing consumer viewing habits, offering subscribers quick access to a wide variety of award-winning and critically-acclaimed content 12 hours after the U.S., which will helps with the ongoing fight against illegal copying, distribution and piracy.”
Available free to now TV‘s HBO Max Pak Premium subscribers, Spink added: “We are very pleased that now TV will be the first broadcaster in Asia to offer HBO Go, as Hong Kong is a highly sophisticated market with a prevalence of high speed broadband network and mobile and tablet users, providing the perfect environment for the introduction of HBO GO.”
PCCW MD of TV, new media Janice Lee said, “HBO has always been our partner of choice who strives to offer the best to Hong Kong viewers. With HBO GO, it further demonstrates its commitment to the Hong Kong audience.”
“Over the past months, we have launched a number of apps with great success, including the now Player and now news apps, with which we have accumulated over one million downloads via smartphones, tablets and other devices. We have every confidence that HBO Go, as a new addition to our content line-up, will further enrich our customer experience by offering great content anytime, anywhere”.
The HBO Go service will complement HBO Asia‘s bouquet of subscription movie channels in the region including HBO, HBO HD, HBO Signature, HBO On Demand, the subscription video-on-demand service, and Red, HBO Asia‘s first premium Asian movie channel.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
