Hong Kong-based Chinese programmer, Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), is launching a standalone app, expanding its Chinese entertainment footprint from its long-held movie roots into the streaming space for the first time.

The announcement was made by CTE chief executive, Ofanny Choi, today during the opening morning of the 2023 ContentAsia Summit in Bangkok.

The target launch date in Southeast Asia is Q2 2024.

Phase one of the rollout is a B2B model, working with telcos and platforms, with a B2C rollout possible in two years.

The strategy leverages CTE’s strong partnerships in the region as well as its strengths in curation, honed over the past 20 years in delivering Chinese movies to audiences in Asia.

The app will carry movies from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan with some Singapore titles.

Among these are edgier titles that cannot be streamed on linear channels.

The new service fills a glaring market gap, Choi said in a session on Chinese content.

“There hasn’t been one single app in the market to now 100% focused on Chinese movies,” she said.

She added that the streaming line up consolidated Chinese movies into one place, presenting unprecedented Chinese movie depth for Asian audiences, including titles not seen before in the region.

Original production is also being planned.

“We’re going to go very deep into the Chinese movie space in a way that no-one in the region has seen before,” she said.