Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was prevalent before streaming platforms came to dominate the TV and movie distribution markets.
A&E Television Networks, LLC is an American multinational broadcasting company owned and operated as a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its Entertainment division. It owns several non-fiction and entertainment-based television brands, including its namesake A&E network, History Channel, Lifetime, FYI and their associated sister channels, as well as holding stakes in, or licenses, their international branches.
Sun TV Network Limited is an Indian Media conglomerate company headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is a part of Sun Group and is one of Asia's largest TV networks. Established on 14 April 1993 by Kalanithi Maran, it owns a variety of television channels in multiple languages and radio stations in multiple languages. Its flagship channel is Sun TV.
Star Movies is an Asian-based pay television channel owned by Disney Entertainment. Star Movies was originally launched in 1994 as a single channel broadcast across Asia, but it has regionalized into different localized channels since then. Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific have since rebranded some of the network's international feeds in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia as Fox Movies, but retains the Star Movies brand in the Middle East & South Asia.
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based at Warner Bros. Discovery's corporate headquarters inside 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan. Programming featured on the network consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original television programs as well as made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional comedy, and concert specials, and periodic interstitial programs.
HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, based out of Singapore. It was originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, later rebranding on 1 June 1995 to its current name after being purchased by Home Box Office, Inc. The Singapore-based broadcast network offers channels and services with no advertisements– HBO, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Hits and Cinemax – as well as HBO Go and HBO on Demand. They became the exclusive distributor of BabyFirst in Asia.
Star Chinese Movies was a Chinese language pay television channel owned by Disney Networks Group Pacific Ltd. The channel mainly broadcast Chinese-language films, as well as bilingual Japanese films, Japanese animations, Korean films, Thai films, etc., and digitally restored some Hong Kong action films. At the time of the channel's expansion into Thailand and Indonesia, its owner Fox International Channels claimed that it was the most widely distributed Chinese-language entertainment channel.
Radio and Television Station of Shanghai (RTS), a Shanghai-based state media outlet, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Media Group (SMG), represent one of China's largest state-owned media and cultural conglomerates, with the most complete portfolio of media and related businesses. The Oriental Pearl Media Company under SMG was the first cultural and media company in China to realize a market capitalization totaling more than ¥100 billion (US$15B) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2015. By June 2015, SMG has more than ¥61B (US$10B) in assets and about 17,200 employees.
Mei Ah Entertainment Group Co., Ltd. is a media distribution company in Hong Kong.
Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), formerly Tiger Gate Entertainment, is a diversified media company based in Hong Kong that operates pay television entertainment channels in Asia and oversees Lionsgate distribution rights in Greater China and Southeast Asia. It is a joint venture co-owned by Saban Capital Group, Lionsgate and Celestial Pictures.
CJ ENM Entertainment Division, formerly known as CJ E&M, is a South Korean entertainment and mass media division of CJ ENM. In July 2018, the company merged with the parent company's subsidiary CJ O Shopping, with the latter being the surviving entity.
BBC First is an entertainment subscription television channel featuring comedy, crime, drama and film programming, originating from UK and mostly from the BBC. The channel is wholly owned and operated by BBC Studios. The channel began rolling out internationally in 2014, launching first in Australia. It is supported by extended localised advertising breaks.
Cineverse Corp. is an American entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Cineverse’s businesses encompass digital cinema, streaming channels, content marketing, and distribution.
Assassin's Creed is a 2016 historical science fiction action film based on the video game franchise published by Ubisoft. The film is directed by Justin Kurzel, written by Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, and stars Michael Fassbender, as well as Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Michael K. Williams. The film is set in the same universe as the video games but features an original story that expands the series' mythology. The plot revolves around Callum "Cal" Lynch (Fassbender), who is abducted by the Abstergo Foundation because of his heritage. Cal's ancestor, Aguilar de Nerha, was a member of the Assassin Brotherhood—a fictional organization inspired by the real-life Order of Assassins—active during the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th-century, who swore to protect the Apple of Eden, an artifact believed to contain the key to humanity's free will. Cal must accept his Assassin heritage and stop Abstergo, the Templar Order of the modern-day, from finding the Apple and using it to enslave humanity.
Viu is a Hong Kong–based over-the-top (OTT) video streaming provider from PCCW Media Group's Viu International Ltd. Operated in a dual-revenue model comprising subscriptions and advertising, Viu delivers content in different genres from Asia's top content providers with local language subtitles, as well as original production series under the Viu Original initiative.
GagaOOLala is a Taiwan-based worldwide subscription video on demand service, specializing in uncensored LGBT-related films, LGBT made-for television films and contemporary LGBT television drama series. It has partnered with Japanese-based Line TV, initially in Thailand, and then across Asia, to provide the service with GagaOOLala-made TV series. GagaOOLala is owned by Portico Media, whose also carried pay TV channels for Taiwan cable TV provider along with Chunghwa Telecom's MOD platform.
Jungo TV, LLC is a privately-held media company that owns and operates television channels and streaming apps founded in 2016. Jungo TV is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in San Diego, Mumbai, and Manila.
TAP Digital Media Ventures Corporation is a Philippine media and entertainment company which oversees the operations of its 24-hour linear television channels and a digital over-the-top media service. It is founded by Renen and Celinda De Guia and former Solar Entertainment Corporation chief operating officer Peter Chan Liong.
Kroma Entertainment, commonly known as Kroma, is a Philippine media and entertainment company engaging in film, television, events, production, digital content management and other media-related businesses. It is financially backed by Globe Telecom through 917Ventures' Retirement Fund agency.
