World Screen

TOKYO: As Netflix gears up for its September 2 launch in Japan, the company has entered into a partnership with mobile provider SoftBank Corp. Under the agreement, SoftBank customers will be able to sign up for Netflix at SoftBank Shops, major electronics retailers, via the SoftBank website and via SoftBank …

SYDNEY: Presto has picked up the SVOD rights in Australia for a variety of NBCUniversal (NBCU) comedy and drama programs, including 30 Rock and Heroes. Presto TV will become the exclusive SVOD home for the complete seasons of the hit Irish comedy series Mrs Brown's Boys, which stars Brendan O'Carroll. …

KUALA LUMPUR: Scripps Networks Interactive’s home and lifestyle channel HGTV is launching on Malaysian pay-TV operator Astro. HGTV debuts on Astro on August 31. Programming will include Property Brothers, Cousins Undercover and Fixer Upper, and new series will feature celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and William Shatner in Ellen’s Design Challenge and …

TOKYO: Amazon is bringing its Prime Video service to Japan starting next month, populated with Japanese and U.S. movies and TV shows, anime, music concerts and variety shows, alongside original series. Amazon Prime has already been operating in Japan, but now subscribers gain access to thousands of series and movies …

TOKYO: Netflix is prepping a new original series based on Hibana, a novel by the comedian, haiku poet and scriptwriter Naoki Matayoshi, for a 2016 debut.  Hibana (Spark) is the first novella by Matayoshi. The work was first published in the Japanese magazine The Literary World as a piece of …

MUMBAI: BARC India has joined forces with TAM India, which is a joint venture between Nielsen and Kantar, to form a new meter management company. The newly formed venture will run the meter operations and will supply raw data to BARC India. This ratings data will be the sole trading …

SEOUL: A new travel-themed online reality show from CJ E&M, New Journey to the West, is set to stream exclusively on Tencent's QQ.com in China, simultaneously with its run in Korea. Directed by Na Young Suk, who’s best known for having produced the hit reality TV series Grandpas Over Flowers and …

TOKYO: Nippon Television Network Corporation (Nippon TV) plans to present a variety of new titles in Cannes, including the drama series Death Note, the entertainment program Matsuko-Roid and the reality/game show format The Kindergarten. Death Note follows Light Yagami's mission to kill off all criminals, creating a world without bad …

SINGAPORE: RTL CBS Entertainment HD is set to premiere The Late Show with Stephen Colbert first and exclusive in Asia on September 10. The series will air weeknights at 10:50 p.m., followed by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 11:45 p.m. Guests appearing on the show’s first episode …

HONG KONG: FOX International Channels has commissioned a fourth season of Asia's Next Top Model, which will air on StarWorld in 2016. FremantleMedia Asia will be leading the production of the upcoming season. Season three of the reality competition series on StarWorld was the highest-rated season to date in Singapore …