Hulu Japan in SVOD Pact with HBO

TOKYO: Hulu in Japan has acquired the exclusive SVOD rights to a slate of content from HBO, encompassing more than 800 episodes.

The deal with HJ Holdings, the Nippon Television Network subsidiary that operates Hulu in Japan, includes more than 800 episodes of HBO content, among them Game of Thrones, Sex and the City and The Sopranos, as well as the comedy Silicon Valley, which has never been available in the market before.

“We are very excited to be able to deliver HBO’s great lineup, which could be described as a treasure chest of U.S. drama series, to Hulu’s viewers in Japan,” said Kazufumi Nagasawa, chief content officer at HJ Holdings. “Personally, I am very delighted to finally be able to watch Silicon Valley. We are committed to bringing to our subscribers in Japan the world’s greatest film and TV programming, which I am proud to say will now include hundreds of hours of HBO miniseries and series like Game of Thrones, True Detective, and other hits.”

“We are delighted to work together with Hulu in Japan to bring HBO’s distinctive programming to Hulu’s viewers, who have a great eye for foreign drama,” noted Charles Schreger, the president of programming sales at HBO. “HBO is committed to delivering the most groundbreaking and creative shows to its audience, and we welcome this opportunity to introduce more of our greatest series and miniseries to Hulu’s viewers in Japan.”