Home Box Office (HBO) Asia has partnered with China Movie Channel to co-develop a slate of Chinese-language TV movies to air in China and abroad, the American cable TV giant told The Hollywood Reporter in an exclusive report on Sunday.
The deal marks the first major development or production collaboration by HBO in China's massive television sector, which boasts an estimated 1.2 billion viewers, the report said.
China Movie Channel, also known as CCTV-6, is the flagship entertainment channel of state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).
"We're very excited to be partnering with HBO on high-quality TV movies," Zhang Ling, vice president of China Movie Channel, told THR in Cannes. "Our business models are very complementary, so it is a natural collaboration. We will share more details about our plans at the Shanghai International Film Festival."
The festival, one of the biggest in East Asia, will be held on June 11 to 14.
According to THR, China Movie Channel will be responsible for broadcasting the titles resulting from the deal in China, while HBO will carry them overseas.
China Movie Channel has made several deals with foreign film and entertainment companies in recent years. The company is the official broadcaster of the Oscars in China, and has been an investor in several Hollywood films including Paramount's sci-fi blockbuster "Transformers: Age of Extinction" (2014) and Skydance Production's "Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation" (2015).
CCTV's execs say more investments are expected in the future.
"Our next project is the distribution of 'Angry Birds' in China [on May 20]", Zhang told THR, adding that "the door is open to more collaboration with Hollywood."
Aside from China, HBO has also been escalating its productions in other countries. The company has produced a number of premium local-language drama series in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Singapore through regional partnership deals.
HBO has yet to comment on the report.