Japanese getting HBO on demand

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - HBO is entering the Japanese television market.

The Time Warner division said that a deal has been struck with Japan's largest cable company, Jupiter Telecommunications. Beginning October 1, 80 episodes of HBO series including "The Sopranos" will be made available in high definition on Jupiter's J:COM on Demand.

HBO has maintained a low profile in Japan to date, making select series available on a licensing basis. The network of late has been pushing into new territories, including Israel, on a video-on-demand basis instead of in the form of its core linear service.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter