Product Code Database
HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, headquartered in Singapore. Originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, it was rebranded on 1 June 1995 to its current name upon Home Box Office, Inc. purchase. The Singaporean-based broadcast network offers advertisement-free channels and services – including HBO, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Hits and Cinemax – as well as HBO Go and HBO on Demand. They also became the exclusive distributor of BabyFirst in Asia.
HBO signed an agreement with Singtel in June 1992 in order to deliver its output to StarHub TV's MovieVision channel, as well as other broadcasters in the region.
HBO Asia began 24-hour broadcasts on 1 March 1994 to cater to travellers visiting hotels. It also increased the number of programmes to 70 a month.
HBO Asia was originally a joint venture between Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures. On 16 January 2008, Sony and NBC sold their stakes to WarnerMedia (now Warner Bros. Discovery).
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.
| Grace | Horror drama | Miniseries | |||
| Halfworlds | Dark fantasy thriller | Renewed | |||
| Folklore | Horror drama Anthology series | various languages | Ended | ||
| Grisse | Epic Western | Ended | |||
| Food Lore | Slice of life Anthology series | Various languages | Ended | ||
| Invisible Stories | Psychological drama/Anthology series | Ended | |||
| Dream Raider | Science fiction Mystery fiction | Ended | |||
| Miss S | Period drama action drama | Mandarin | Miniseries | ||
| On the Job | Action thriller | Filipino | Miniseries | ||
| Who's by Your Side | Family drama thriller | Ended | |||
| Legacy | Period drama family drama | Mandarin | Miniseries | ||
| Scent of Time | Period drama romantic fantasy | Mandarin | Miniseries |
| Sent | Comedy drama | English | Ended | ||
| Adventure of the Ring | Romantic comedy comedy-drama | Mandarin | Miniseries | ||
| The Accidental Influencer | Workplace comedy romantic comedy | Mandarin | Pending |
| Traffickers: Inside the Golden Triangle | True crime docuseries | English | Ended | ||
| Drag Race Philippines | Reality competition | Pending | |||
| MarkKim + Chef | Cooking show | Thai | Miniseries | ||
| Deane's Dynasty | Reality show | Thai | Pending | ||
| The Bachelor Indonesia | Dating show | Pending |
| Serangoon Road | Period drama | ABC/Australia | English | Ended | ||
| The Teenage Psychic | Supernatural coming-of-age drama | PTS/Taiwan | Ended | |||
| True crime docuseries | Star World/India | English | Miniseries | |||
| Miss Sherlock | Crime drama | Hulu Japan/Japan | Japanese | Ended | ||
| The Bridge | Crime drama | Viu/Malaysia | Ended | |||
| The World Between Us | Psychological drama | PTS and Catchplay/Taiwan | Mandarin | Season 2 moved to Amazon Prime Video | ||
| Workers | Dark comedy comedy-drama | Taiwan Mobile/Taiwan | Miniseries | |||
| The Head | Mystery fiction thriller | Pending | ||||
| Trinity of Shadows | Crime drama | Mandarin | Ended | |||
| Twisted Strings | Comedy thriller/Anthology series | Mandarin | Miniseries |
| Dead Mine | Action horror | English | ||
| Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So | Action drama | Mandarin | ||
| Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-Ying | ||||
| Master of the White Crane Fist: Wong Yam-Lam | ||||
| Master of the Nine Dragon Fist: Wong Ching-Ho | ||||
| The Garden of Evening Mists | Romantic drama period drama | English | ||
| Gensan Punch | Sports film biographical film |
Typically, movies showcasing gestures like the middle finger, nudity, intense intimacy, and profanity are edited out. Scenes revealing attire or exposed skin near private areas are commonly censored, especially in predominantly Muslim regions of Southeast Asia (excluding Vietnam). Additionally, depictions of alcohol or pork are often blurred, as they are considered haram in Islam.
The HBO-made series Entourage was taken off-air for three weeks by one cable operator in the Philippines, pending clearance by the MTRCB. The entire series continued to air without disruption on all other Philippine cable operators.
In Vietnam, programmes broadcast on HBO Asia undergo censorship overseen by the Vietnam News Agency. Any film that is judged to contradict or misrepresent the Vietnam War (such as depicting the US as heroes, which contradicts the state's official stance) or critical of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam, or to contain explicit sexual or gruesome content deemed inconsistent with Vietnamese societal norms, will not be aired. Instead, it will be replaced with another film, accompanied by an on-screen disclaimer indicating that it is a substitute feature replacing a film with sensitive content. Additionally, scenes depicting nudity, violence, or mild profanity are typically toned down.
In China, due to Western product restrictions and the China-United States trade war, HBO was blocked and restricted, and the replacements are currently Tencent Video and iQIYI.
The live channels remain available on selected pay TV providers, as HBO GO no longer provides the live channels in-app and online starting 25 May 2023.
Before the launch of HBO South Asia, HBO tried replicating the premium model in India. However, HBO then decided it was not commercially viable, so the South Asia channel was launched in India and also in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Maldives.
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 were commercial-free. The content of both channels included movies as well as most of HBO Original Programming. When the channels launched, the main HBO channel stopped airing original series.
In 2015, HBO decided to exit the Indian market and license the channel to Turner International India. 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 were 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 is available on Star World and Disney+ Hotstar.
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, while WB Channel 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 (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.
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