FEATURES
Celestial, Viva, Cignal partner on Philippines’ movie channel
16 November 2015
Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE) is partnering with Philippines’ producer/distributor Viva Communications and direct-to-home satellite platform Cignal TV to launch a first-of-its-kind movie channel.
Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE) is partnering with Philippines’ producer/distributor Viva Communications and direct-to-home satellite platform Cignal TV to launch a first-of-its-kind movie channel.
Celestial Movies Pinoy (CM Pinoy) debuts in January 2016 with exclusive carriage on Cignal TV’s basic tier, reaching more than one million subscribers.
The channel, offered in a mix of Tagalog and English, is the first fully localised Chinese movie channel in the Philippines.
The launch schedule includes the latest hits such as Lady of the Dynasty, an epic drama with Fan Bingbing; Little Big Master, 2015’s highest-grossing Chinese film in Hong Kong; and romantic drama Paris Holiday, starring Hong Kong’s Louis Koo and Taiwan’s Kuo Tsai Chieh.
CM Pinoy will also showcase classic favourites such as Jackie Chan’s New Police Story, Rob-B-Hood, The Medallion and The Myth.
The channel will feature special thematic programming every month centered around superstars or popular genres. Beyond movies, CM Pinoy will present behind-the-scenes movie specials and interviews with Chinese stars and directors.
Local Philippines movies are not part of the schedule to begin with, but the possibility is not being ruled out for future schedules.
CTE isn’t saying how many additional titles it has acquired only for the Philippines. “Like with all of our Celestial Movies feeds, we are actively acquiring to cater to local tastes while utilising our economies of scale for regional acquisitions,” said Ofanny Choi, CTE’s executive vice president, TV networks.
Choi said the Philippines was one of Asia’s most dynamic markets on both a macro-level and for pay TV.
“We wanted to launch a Chinese movie channel there that had mass-appeal so localisation was key. We had to find the right partner to create a fully localised Celestial Movies and we found such a partner in Viva,” she added.
“Filipinos, in general, love movies and are now beginning to appreciate Asian productions and actors,” says Viva Communications’ chairman and...
Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE) is partnering with Philippines’ producer/distributor Viva Communications and direct-to-home satellite platform Cignal TV to launch a first-of-its-kind movie channel.
Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE) is partnering with Philippines’ producer/distributor Viva Communications and direct-to-home satellite platform Cignal TV to launch a first-of-its-kind movie channel.
Celestial Movies Pinoy (CM Pinoy) debuts in January 2016 with exclusive carriage on Cignal TV’s basic tier, reaching more than one million subscribers.
The channel, offered in a mix of Tagalog and English, is the first fully localised Chinese movie channel in the Philippines.
The launch schedule includes the latest hits such as Lady of the Dynasty, an epic drama with Fan Bingbing; Little Big Master, 2015’s highest-grossing Chinese film in Hong Kong; and romantic drama Paris Holiday, starring Hong Kong’s Louis Koo and Taiwan’s Kuo Tsai Chieh.
CM Pinoy will also showcase classic favourites such as Jackie Chan’s New Police Story, Rob-B-Hood, The Medallion and The Myth.
The channel will feature special thematic programming every month centered around superstars or popular genres. Beyond movies, CM Pinoy will present behind-the-scenes movie specials and interviews with Chinese stars and directors.
Local Philippines movies are not part of the schedule to begin with, but the possibility is not being ruled out for future schedules.
CTE isn’t saying how many additional titles it has acquired only for the Philippines. “Like with all of our Celestial Movies feeds, we are actively acquiring to cater to local tastes while utilising our economies of scale for regional acquisitions,” said Ofanny Choi, CTE’s executive vice president, TV networks.
Choi said the Philippines was one of Asia’s most dynamic markets on both a macro-level and for pay TV.
“We wanted to launch a Chinese movie channel there that had mass-appeal so localisation was key. We had to find the right partner to create a fully localised Celestial Movies and we found such a partner in Viva,” she added.
“Filipinos, in general, love movies and are now beginning to appreciate Asian productions and actors,” says Viva Communications’ chairman and CEO, Vicente del Rosario Jr.
He added that Tagalog-dubbed content “is much easier to understand and enjoy which will expand its appeal to a much wider audience”.
CM Pinoy TV is the third CTE channel Cignal TV will carry after Kix and Thrill. Rival SkyCable carries Celestial Classic Movies, which is distributed to the provinces by Creative Program Inc (CPI).
This article first appeared in ContentAsia eNewsletter 221, published on 16 November 2015
Previous
Next
