China to get Netflix-like service

A company with ties to both the Chinese government and to Hollywood said it is bringing a Netflix-like movie-streaming service to mainland China, with films from at least one major US studio, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The as-yet-unnamed service is a joint venture between Jiaflix Enterprises and a subsidiary of the government-owned China Movie Channel.

The new service is set to open in the fourth quarter, according to its backers, who say they have signed their first content agreement with a major Hollywood studio, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Reuters writes.

Hollywood studios have been largely excluded from doing business in the nation's most populous nation by government-imposed import limits.

Paramount will provide movies and TV shows from its library, which includes hits such as the Mission Impossible films, to the Chinese movie-streaming service, said Longei Liang, MD of the Chinese company's M1905 movie-streaming Web site.

According to Dawn.com, the movie service, announced on Thursday in Beverly Hills, California, is also negotiating similar agreements with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and other studios, Liang said. China Movie Channel plans to create the new service with Jiaflix Enterprises, a group that includes former Columbia Pictures chairman Sid Ganis.

Jiaflix, a play on Jia, which means “home”, expects to soon add content from more studios, said Marc Ganis, a cousin of Sid Ganis and a Jiaflix MD. “This new venture will bring the best that Hollywood has to offer to viewers in China,” said Sid Ganis.

“It represents a great opportunity for Hollywood to increase its exports to China and enhance cultural co-operation between our two nations.” The service's backers hope the low-cost and mobile streaming model will help Hollywood studios wring more revenue from Chinese viewers.