Netmovie to Distribute Celestial Content

August 1, 2008 World Screen

HONG KONG, August 1: Beijing Netmovie has inked a deal to distribute 662 Shaw Brothers films and 170 hours of original TV dramas from Celestial Pictures through a slew of Internet cafés in China.

Netmovie has licensed the rights to release Celestial’s content via the Internet, IPTV and mobile platforms in Mainland China. The company will distribute the Shaw Brothers films through various cinema lines centered on VV8.com, such as China Internet Café, Cinema Line, China Cyber Cinema Line, China Campus Cinema Line and China Domestic Cinema Line.

An extensive range of Shaw Brothers films from the ’70s and ’80s, including The Kingdom and The Beauty, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Love in a Fallen City and Love on Delivery, as well as TV dramas such as Empress Feng of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Survival, will be available on Netmovie’s online platform, reaching 30,000 Internet café and potentially 90 million households across China.

Celestial’s Shaw Brothers library consists of 760 films produced from the 1950s to the 1990s. Since 2003, Celestial Pictures has re-released these movies to Chinese cinema after restoring and remastering them.

Terry Mak, the executive VP of distribution and TV networks for Celestial Pictures, said: “The partnership with Netmovie marks an important step forward for Celestial’s Shaw Brothers distribution network in Mainland China. With Netmovie’s established network and quality content services, we look forward to introducing these timeless treasures and new TV dramas to millions of Chinese audience.”

Shao Yuanyuan, the co-CEO of Netmovie, said: “The Netmovie insist on the strategy of authorized copy movie, now it is becoming the digital entertainment service provider that owns the most movie resources and channel resources in China. In mainland, it has a large number of audiences. Through this cooperation, the Netmovie will further promote the experience of customers, and further consolidate the leading position of Netmovie inside the market.”

—By Jackie Stewart