HBO snaps Sony pact, joins Turner bouquet

After snapping its ties with Sony Entertainment Television for advertisement, sales and distribution, leading Hollywood movie channel HBO has entered into an alliance with Turner International.

As per the agreement between the two companies, Turner International India will manage advertising sales for HBO and distribute the service through its Zee Turner joint venture in India. SET India had been the exclusive advertising sales and distribution representative for HBO since January 2003.

Entering the Indian market in September 2000 with the backing of four major Hollywood studios -- Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment -- HBO is now available in over 20 million households throughout India.

"The Zee Turner alliance will allow us to build on the strong growth we have enjoyed over the last several years. Having successfully partnered with HBO to launch the channel in India several years ago, we are proud to be in business together again," said Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia.

"We are intimately acquainted with this Time Warner brand and thrilled about our prospects to grow the channel's business in the years ahead through our Zee Turner partnership," said Steve Marcopoto, president and managing director, Turner Broadcasting System Asia-Pacific, Inc.

"We are excited to have HBO join Zee Turner, the largest bouquet of channels in India. With this addition, we clearly become the market leader in providing entertainment to every class of Indians," said Dheeraj Kapuria, CEO of Zee Turner.

The Zee Turner bouquet that features Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Cartoon Network, Pogo, CNN and a number of strong regional channels.