Singapore – HBO Asia announced on April 22 that it will premiere HBO and Cinemax original content less than 24 hours after their U.S. premiere from July 2014. Starting with the brand-new Cinemax Original series, The Knick, starring Academy Award® and Emmy®nominee Clive Owen and directed by Academy Award® and Emmy® winner Steven Soderbergh, viewers in Asia can watch this series the very next evening after it premieres in the U.S.
“Whilst this move is no silver bullet to combat piracy, it’s an on-going effort on our part to protect intellectual property, industry, jobs and revenue,” said Jonathan Spink, CEO, HBO Asia. “By offering viewers legitimate content in a timely and more convenient manner, we hope to be able to continue to encourage viewers to support the fight against online piracy.”
From July, subscribers will have more options to consume their favourite HBO and Cinemax original content just hours after the U.S. Subscribers can choose to watch new seasons of Boardwalk Empire, The Newsroom and the new HBO mini-series Olive Kitteridge — either on HBO Asia’s standard and high definition channels, HBO (StarHub Ch 601), HBO SIGNATURE (StarHub Ch 603) and Cinemax (StarHub Ch 611); or on HBO GO, where the latest original content will be available on the broadband streaming service within 12 hours after it premieres in the U.S.
Boardwalk Empire
This announcement comes six months after HBO Asia announced in October last year that it was premiering HBO Originals in Asia within one week of their U.S. debut.
HBO GO is available in Hong Kong through nowTV and the Philippines through SKYCable.