STAR, News Corp.'s  Asian entertainment division, has struck a movie distribution deal in Japan and a major channel carriage agreement in the U.S.

          Hong Kong-based company, which owns one of the largest film libraries in the region, has pacted with Tsutaya Discas to release 20 movie titles on Broadband Internet in Japan. Titles include Bruce Lee-starrers "Fist of Fury" and "Way of the Dragon," Jackie Chan's "Project A" series, and the "Chinese Ghost Story" series. Titles will be available via 'electronic rental' and 'electronic sell thru' downloading.

          "This is the first time that our Fortune Star titles will be distributed online in Japan," Yvonne Chuang, VP, program syndication and distribution, said.

          In the U.S. Comcast's multi-ethnic programming aggregator International Networks will rep five of STAR's Indian channels to North American cablers. Agreement covers four Hindi nets STAR PLUS, STAR GOLD, STAR ONE, STAR NEWS and Tamil-language VIJAY.

          "As the Indian American consumer segment has grown, so has the need for operators to have quality South Asian content to stay competitive," Michael Scott, VP of affiliate sales and marketing at International Networks, said.

Comments (0)