Tencent buys Bond catalogue, Paramount’s latest

Chinese on-demand service Tencent has acquired exclusive local rights to the entire James Bond movie library and Paramount Pictures’ upcoming feature films.

The deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer for the Bond titles will at some point in the future include the recently-released 24^th film in the series, Spectre, which debuts in China on November 13 and is from EON Productions, MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Users will be able to access the films, plus in-depth documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage and star interviews, on a TVOD and SVOD basis.

The agreement with Viacom-owned Paramount, meanwhile, sees Tencent become the exclusive TVOD and SVOD home of new releases for 12 months after their theatrical release in mainland China.

Key Paramount titles next year include Star Trek Beyond, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, with recent releases such as Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation and Terminator Genisys offered through the deal.

Tencent already has exclusive Chinese on-demand rights to the Star Wars franchise and content from HBO.

“Adding marquee brands like Paramount to our world-class content offering gives China’s internet users access to the best possible entertainment lineup in the industry,” said SY Lau, senior executive VP, Tencent and president of Tencent Online Media Group.

“This deal will allow our content to reach a wide audience through Tencent’s massive user base while ensuring it is completely protected,” said Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore.