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Al Campbell

Wharf Cable Cineplex has signed deals with three movie production companies that give the channel exclusive first-run broadcast rights to about 165 Hollywood and Chinese films on its pay-per-view service.

  In deals with Warner Brothers and Columbia TriStar, Wharf's Cineplex channel will air Hollywood films like Batman Forever, Assassins and Desperado over two years.

  Wharf has now signed deals with five of the eight major Hollywood studios after signing previous agreements with Disney, MGM and Newline.

  Another deal with Win's Productions will provide about 100 Chinese films such as Shanghai Grand and Once Upon a Time in China VI.

  Details of the financial agreement were not available.

  Rawdon Tsui, business development director of Wharf Cable Cineplex, said all the companies would share revenue from screenings, which cost the viewer $25 a time.

  Mr Tsui said Wharf had about 250,000 subscribers and had a year-end target of 300,000. The company spent nearly $200 million on software and programming this year. He said the pay-TV operation accounted for 10 to 12 per cent of Wharf's revenue, and that the company expected to be in profit by late next year.

  'The momentum is picking up because of the sports, music and movie programming and people are getting the urge to acquire the service,' Mr Tsui said.

  Gregory Robertson, Warner Brothers vice-president for Asia-Pacific, said the region was the company's fastest growing, accounting for 15 per cent of its international television revenue.

  'Warner has experienced dramatic growth with the proliferation of cable in the region and it was important for us to get in with a local partner who knows the market,' Mr Robertson said.



Wharf clinches first-run movie rights