HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, based out of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. 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. Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) is an American multinational media and entertainment company operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. Founded by Charles Dolan and based out of WarnerMedia's former corporate headquarters at the 30 Hudson Yar ...

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.

Programming

HBO Asia has licensing deals with two major Hollywood conglomerate

film studios A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the productio ...

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...

(

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

;

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

HBO Films HBO Films (formerly called HBO Premiere Films and HBO Pictures) is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. The division produces fiction and non- ...

Castle Rock Entertainment Castle Rock Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a label of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself a subsidia ...

;

Warner Independent Pictures Warner Independent Pictures was an independent film division of the American film studio Warner Bros., itself a division of Warner Bros. Discovery, which then was known as TimeWarner. Established in August 2003, its first release was 2004's ' ...

) and

Paramount Global Paramount Global ( doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. ...

( Paramount Pictures,

Paramount Vantage Paramount Vantage (also known as Paramount Classics) was a film distribution label of Paramount Pictures (which, in turn, has Paramount Global as its parent company), charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, general ...

). * ''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 Catchplay (stylized as CATCHPLAY) is a Taiwanese multimedia company founded in 2007, whose businesses include OTT VOD streaming service operation, linear television channel operation (CatchPlay Movie Channel) and theatrical film distribution. L ...

, which has co-produce some HBO Asian titles.

TV series

=Drama

=Comedy

=Unscripted

=Co-productions

= These shows have been commissioned by HBO Asia with a partner network.

Films

Censorship

HBO Asia was heavily censored in some Asian countries, with many shows such as ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

'', ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'', ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

'', ''

Hung Hung may refer to: People * Hung (surname), various Chinese surnames * Hùng king, a king of Vietnam People with the given name Hung include: * Hung Huynh, Vietnamese-American chef, winner of the third season of the television show ''Top Chef'' ...

'', ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

'', ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The ser ...

'', '' Game of Thrones'', '' Boardwalk Empire'', ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...

'', '' Succession'', '' Euphoria'', and ''

House of the Dragon ''House of the Dragon'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second TV show in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' franch ...

'' aired in edited versions; certain programmes are not shown in some territories at all. This has been liberalised to an extent in recent years. The HBO-made series ''

'' was taken off-air for three weeks by one cable operator in the Philippines, pending clearance by the

MTRCB The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board ( fil, Lupon sa Rebyu at Klasipikasyon ng Pelikula at Telebisyon; abbreviated as MTRCB) is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is respon ...

. The entire series continued to air without disruption on all other Philippines cable operators. In

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, every movie with content which is considered to oppose or distort the American War, the Communist Party of Vietnam or

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

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. Output that feature visuals such as the

middle finger The middle finger, long finger, second finger, third finger, toll finger or tall man is the third digit of the human hand, located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is typically the longest digit. In anatomy, it is also calle ...

, nudity, passionate

intimacy An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving family, friends, or ...

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 Tencent Video (, also called WeTV outside of China) is a Chinese video streaming website owned by Tencent. The website was launched in April 2011, and is one of China's largest online video platforms. As of March 2022, Tencent Video has over 1.2 ...

and iQIYI.

Other channels

HBO South Asia

HBO formerly provided a separate feed with commercial breaks for audiences in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, namely India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. All movie promos in this beam are according to IST. A timeshifted feed for Pakistan was launched in the mid-2000s 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. HBO Asia and

Eros International Eros International Media Ltd (also known as Eros India) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based and originated in Mumbai, India. Founded by Arjun Lulla in 1977, it is one of the leading production and distribut ...

launched HBO Defined and HBO Hits across India on 21 February 2013 on

Dish TV Dish, dishes or DISH may refer to: Culinary * Dish (food), something prepared to be eaten * Dishware, plates and bowls for eating, cutting boards, silverware Communications * Dish antenna a type of antenna * Dish Network, a satellite televisio ...

and

Airtel Digital TV Bharti Telemedia Limited, doing business as Airtel Digital TV, is an Indian direct-broadcast satellite service provider owned and operated by Bharti Airtel. Its satellite service, launched in October 2008, transmits digital satellite televisi ...

. These channels are commercial-free. The content of both the channels include movies as well as most of

HBO Original Programming Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. When the channels launched, the main HBO channel stopped airing original series. In 2015, HBO had decided to exit the Indian market and license the channel to

Turner International India Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

. The channel was revamped in February 2016 after a survey conducted by the channel team to better suit the masses. 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. It only airs Hollywood movies, as Star India has the rights to HBO Original Programming which are available on Star World and Disney+ Hotstar. WarnerMedia International announced on 15 October 2020 that HBO South Asia and

WB Channel WB Channel (short for Warner Bros.) was an Indian pay television channel. It was launched on 15 March 2009 by Warner Bros. Discovery India (then TimeWarner) through its international division exclusively for the Indian subcontinent. The cha ...

would close down on 15 December 2020. The HBO channel would no longer be available in India and Pakistan after this date, while

ceased to exist in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Maldives. 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 ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and ...

.'' HBO Pakistan was also closed down at midnight.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:HBO Asia

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

HBO Asia HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, based out of Singapore. 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 broad ...

Movie channels Cable television in Hong Kong English-language television stations Television channels and stations established in 1992 Television stations in Mumbai Defunct television channels in India Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific Movie channels in the Philippines Movie channels in Singapore Movie channels in Taiwan Movie channels in Thailand Movie channels in Indonesia Movie channels in Vietnam Movie channels in Malaysia Movie channels in South Korea Mass media in Southeast Asia 1992 establishments in Singapore th:เอชบีโอ

Programming

Original Programming

TV series

=Drama

=Comedy

=Unscripted

=Co-productions

Films

Censorship

Other channels

HBO South Asia

See also

Notes

References

External links