China’s Tencent Scores Exclusive Pact with HBO

SINGAPORE: Tencent Video has become the exclusive online partner for HBO in China, delivering dramas such as Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire alongside a host of movies.

The Chinese Internet video platform will be the sole official provider in the country of HBO drama series such as Band of Brothers, Rome, The Newsroom and True Detective. The agreement also sees Tencent Video score the exclusive on a host of movie titles from HBO and HBO Asia.

Charles Schreger, the president of programming sales at HBO, said: “The HBO brand is synonymous with groundbreaking original programming. The storytelling as well as the scale and scope of production on our series, such as Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, is simply unmatched in the entertainment industry. This partnership with Tencent Video ensures that Chinese fans will now be able to enjoy our dramas at the high level of quality they were meant to be experienced. This is a great partnership for both companies and for the Chinese consumer as well.”
 
Martin Lau, the president of Tencent Holdings, commented: “We are delighted to become HBO’s exclusive online partner in China, and to provide its content to millions of consumers at any time, on any device. This partnership enables us to distribute some of the most ground-breaking programming in the world through our robust technology platform, to the benefit of Chinese Internet users.”
 
SY Lau, the president of Tencent’s online media group, added: “HBO’s award-winning drama series and movies have built up fantastic viewer enthusiasm in China. Bringing this content to a wide audience in an attractive on-demand format will further differentiate our market-leading online video service.”