Country | |
---|---|
Broadcast area | |
Network | HBO |
Headquarters | 151 Lorong Chuan, New Technology Park 04-05, Serangoon Gardens, Singapore |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English
Chinese Japanese Malay Filipino Indonesian Thai |
Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 anamorphic widescreen or letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
Ownership | |
Owner | HBO Asia Pte Ltd (WarnerMedia International) |
History | |
Launched | 1 May 1992 |
Replaced | Red by HBO (SatLite Only, Philippines) |
Former names | MovieVision (1992–1995) |
Links | |
Website | Official website |
Availability | |
HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO. It was originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, later rebranding on 1 June 1995 to its current name after being purchased by Home Box Office, Inc. The Singapore-based broadcast network offers channels and services with no advertisements– HBO, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Hits, Cinemax and Red – as well as HBO Go and HBO on Demand. HBO Asia is also the exclusive distributor of BabyFirst in Asia.[1]
Programming
HBO Asia has first run and licensing deals with major Hollywood and independent studios, including Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Lionsgate, DreamWorks Animation and Paramount Pictures., in addition to its proprietary HBO Original programmes. It also licenses content from DC Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, StudioCanal, MGM, Relativity Media, Millennium Films, Castle Rock Entertainment, Europacorp, FilmNation Entertainment, Focus Features, IM Global, Morgan Creek, New Line Cinema, Paramount Classics, Screen Gems, Sony Picture Classics, Village Roadshow, and Warner Independent Pictures.
- HBO Central is a monthly program giving information about which movies and series will be shown in the coming month.
- New seasons of HBO's Original Series or Original Productions air on Sunday nights/Monday mornings.
Original Programming
HBO also aired their Original Series or Original Films from Asian creators which aired on Sunday nights. Some other Asian original title may also simultaneously release in other platform, for example Catchplay, which has co-produce some HBO Asian titles.
TV series
Drama
Title | Genre | Premiere | Seasons | Runtime | Language(s) | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grace | Horror drama | October 17, 2014 | 4 episodes | Unknown |
|
Miniseries |
Halfworlds | Dark fantasy thriller | November 29, 2015 | 2 seasons, 16 episodes | Unknown |
|
Renewed[2] |
Folklore | Horror anthology | October 7, 2018 | 2 seasons, 12 episodes | 60 min | various languages | Pending |
Grisse | Epic Western | March 6, 2019 | 1 season, 8 episodes | Unknown |
|
Ended |
Food Lore | Slice of life anthology | November 3, 2019 | 1 season, 8 episodes | Unknown | various languages | Ended |
Invisible Stories | Psychological drama/Anthology | January 5, 2020 | 1 season, 6 episodes | Unknown |
|
Ended |
Dream Raider | Science fiction mystery drama | August 16, 2020 | 1 season, 8 episodes | Unknown |
|
Ended |
Miss S[a] | Period action drama | October 5, 2020 | 30 episodes | Unknown | Mandarin | Miniseries |
On The Job | Action thriller | September 13, 2021 | 6 episodes | 45-63 min | Filipino | Miniseries |
Who's By Your Side | Family thriller | October 3, 2021 | 10 episodes | 50 min |
|
Ended |
Comedy
Title | Genre | Premiere | Seasons | Runtime | Language(s) | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SeNT | Comedy drama | September 17, 2017 | 1 season, 8 episodes | Unknown | English | Ended |
Adventure of the Ring | Romantic comedy-drama | December 13, 2020 | 8 episodes | Unknown | Mandarin | Miniseries |
Unscripted
Title | Genre | Premiere | Seasons | Runtime | Language(s) | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Traffickers: Inside the Golden Triangle | True crime docuseries | July 23, 2021 | 3 episodes | Unknown | English | Ended |
Co-productions
These shows have been commissioned by HBO Asia with a partner network.
Title | Genre | Partner/Country | Premiere | Seasons | Runtime | Language | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Serangoon Road | Period drama | ABC/Australia | September 22, 2013 | 1 season, 10 episodes | 55 min | English | Ended |
The Teenage Psychic | Supernatural coming-of-age drama | PTS/Taiwan | April 2, 2017 | 2 seasons, 14 episodes | 50 min |
|
Ended |
The Talwars: Behind Closed Doors | True crime docuseries | Star World/India | November 26, 2017 | 4 episodes | Unknown | English | Miniseries |
Miss Sherlock | Crime drama | Hulu/Japan | April 27, 2018 | 1 season, 8 episodes | 45-50 min | Japanese | Ended |
The Bridge | Crime drama | Viu/Malaysia | November 26, 2018 | 2 seasons, 20 episodes | 60 min |
|
Ended |
The World Between Us | Psychological drama | PTS and Catchplay/Taiwan | March 24, 2019 | 10 episodes | 50 min | Mandarin | Miniseries |
Workers | Dark comedy-drama | myVideo/Taiwan | May 10, 2020 | 6 episodes | Unknown |
|
Miniseries |
The Head | Mystery thriller | June 12, 2020 | 6 episodes | 47–65 min. |
|
Miniseries | |
Trinity of Shadows | Crime drama | ViuTV and Catchplay/Taiwan | June 13, 2021 | 1 season, 15 episodes | Unknown | Mandarin | Ended |
Films
Title | Genre | Release Date | Runtime | Language(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dead Mine | Action horror | September 27, 2012 | 1 hour, 27 min. | English |
Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So | Action drama | December 25, 2016 | 1 hour, 33 min. | Mandarin |
Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-Ying | December 26, 2016 | 1 hour, 40 min. | ||
The Garden of Evening Mists | Romantic period drama | September 13, 2020 | 2 hour | English |
Gensan Punch | Sports biopic | September 27, 2021 | 1 hour, 40 min. |
|
Censorship
HBO Asia was heavily censored in Asia, with many shows such as Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Entourage, The Wire, Hung, Girls, True Blood, Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire aired in edited versions; certain programmes are not shown in some territories at all. This has been liberalised to an extent in recent years.[3][4][5]
The HBO-made series Entourage was taken off-air for three weeks by one cable operator in the Philippines, pending clearance by the MTRCB.[citation needed] The entire series continued to air without disruption on all other Philippines cable operators.
In Vietnam, every movie with content which is considered to oppose or distort the American War, the Communist Party of Vietnam or Communism in general is replaced by another film. In addition, if the Ministry of Culture and Information considers a movie has contents of a serious sexual or horrific nature not conforming with Vietnamese society, it will not be aired.[citation needed]
Output that feature visuals such as the middle finger, nudity, passionate intimacy and vulgar language are cut out.
In China, due to Western product restrictions, and the China-United States trade war, HBO was blocked and restricted, and the replacement is currently Tencent Video and iQIYI.[6][7][citation needed]
Other channels
Network | Description | Website |
---|---|---|
HBO | Shows Hollywood films and HBO Original series | Official site |
HBO Hits | Shows hits and blockbuster films | Official site[b] |
HBO Family | Shows family oriented films and series | Official site[b] |
HBO Signature | Shows critically acclaimed and original productions | Official site[b] |
Cinemax | Shows action and suspense movies | Official site[b] |
HBO On Demand | Shows the best Hollywood films and outstanding HBO Originals at your control | Official site[b] |
BabyFirst | 24-hour channel for babies and infants distributed by HBO Asia | Official site |
HBO South Asia
Country | India |
---|---|
Broadcast area | |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) (downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed) |
Ownership | |
Owner | WarnerMedia International[8] (As of 2019) Turner International India (earlier) |
Sister channels | |
History | |
Launched | 22 March 2000 |
Closed | 15 December 2020 |
Links | |
Website | hbosouthasia |
Availability | |
HBO formerly aired a separate feed with commercial breaks for viewers in India, Bangladesh and Maldives. All movie promos in this beam are according to IST. Another feed for Pakistan was launched in partnership with ARY Digital Network. The schedule was same as the Indian feed with the difference being the commercial breaks and timings in PST.
Before the launch of HBO South Asia, HBO tried replicating the premium model in India. But then HBO decided it wasn't commercially viable so the South Asia channel was launched in India and also in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Maldives.[9]
HBO Asia and Eros International launched HBO Defined and HBO Hits across India on 21 February 2013 on Dish TV and Airtel Digital TV. These channels are commercial-free. The content of both the channels include movies as well as most of HBO Original Programming. When the channels launched, the main HBO channel stopped airing original series.[10]
In 2015, HBO had decided to exit the Indian market and license the channel to Turner International India.[11] The channel was revamped in February 2016 after a survey conducted by the channel team to better suit the masses.[12][13] HBO Defined and HBO Hits would be handled by Star India, however HBO Defined and HBO Hits SD was shut down on 31 December 2015 while HBO Hits HD was replaced by HBO HD on 4 September 2016.[14] It only airs Hollywood movies, as Star India has the rights to HBO Original Programming which are available on Star World and Disney+ Hotstar.[15]
WarnerMedia International announced on 15 October 2020 that HBO South Asia and WB Channel would close down on 15 December 2020. The HBO channel would no longer be available in India and Pakistan after this date, while WB Channel ceased to exist in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Maldives.[16]
HBO India had closed down at midnight with the last movie on the SD channel being Mad Max: Fury Road (completed 1 hour before the shutdown) and the last movie on the HD channel being Memoirs of a Geisha. HBO Pakistan was also closed down at midnight.
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "HBO Asia strikes agreement to represent BabyFirst, WarnerTV across Asia". Television Asia. 1 December 2009.
- ^ "HBO Asia Renews 'Halfworlds' for Third Season, Relocates Series to Philippines". variety.com. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "A Race to Satisfy TV Appetites in Asia". The New York Times. 23 May 1993. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- ^ "Singapore lifts Sex and City ban". BBC News. 16 July 2004. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- ^ "Winter is Coming: Game of Thrones on HBO Asia". 28 August 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- ^ Chow, Vivienne (27 June 2018). "HBO's Website Remains Blocked in China, but Its Shows Aren't". Variety. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ "China blocks HBO after John Oliver parody of Xi Jinping". the Guardian. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ Roy, Tasmayee Laha (5 March 2020). "Pogo & Cartoon Network go local with India Originals". Exchange4media. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ OSBORNE, MAGZ. "HBO Asia May Expand Ad-Supported Approach". Multichannel. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ "HBO Defined and HBO Hits go on-air". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
- ^ Kohli-Khandekar, Vanita (19 December 2014). "Is HBO giving up on its India market?". Business Standard India. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ "HBO India gets branding, packaging revamp". afaqs!. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ Malvania, Urvi (24 February 2016). "HBO moves from niche to mass". Business Standard India. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ "#Experience The Magic with HBO HD!". Turner. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
- ^ "Fox's Star India Strikes Exclusive Deal for HBO Originals". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ Team, AnimationXpress (15 October 2020). "WarnerMedia to cease HBO and WB TV channels in South Asia by 2020 end; to invest more on kids channels". AnimationXpress. Retrieved 15 October 2020.