Tencent has struck a deal with HBO under which it will become the exclusive online video partner for HBO content in China.
The deal means that Tencent Video will be the sole official streaming provider of HBO drama series such as Band of Brothers, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Rome, The Newsroom and True Detective.
HBO movie titles are also included in the deal, which was announced by Tencent Holdings and HBO at the Tencent Video V Conference in Beijing. The two partners said the HBO content would start streaming in China “in the very near future”.
Charles Schreger, HBO’s president of programming sales, said: “This partnership with Tencent Video ensures that Chinese fans will now be able to enjoy our dramas at the high level of quality they were meant to be experienced. This is a great partnership for both companies and for the Chinese consumer as well.”
SY Lau, president of Tencent’s Online Media Group, said: “HBO’s award-winning drama series and movies have built up fantastic viewer enthusiasm in China. Bringing this content to a wide audience in an attractive on-demand format will further differentiate our market-leading online video service.”
Tencent Video (v.qq.com) is available across PCs, smartphones and other mobile devices. Tencent services also include the QQ and WeChat messaging platforms; social networking platform Qzone; online games platform QQ Game and ecommerce services.