Time Warner's HBO has announced a new deal with China's Internet giant Tencent that will allow the Chinese company to stream HBO TV shows and movies on its online video distribution platform.

The partnership will be very beneficial for HBO, as the network can now capitalize on the world's most populous country and the ever-growing demand for U.S. movie and TV titles in China.

Like Us on Facebook

In addition, many Chinese consumers currently don't have the option to stream or purchase popular HBO shows like Game of Thrones or True Detective, and instead have to rely on illegally pirating videos. HBO can now take advantage of Tencent's enormous amount of users and distribute its titles to these consumers.

On the other hand, the partnership deal for Tencent is a move that aims to differentiate itself from other competing major entertainment rivals in China.

Alibaba, China's e-commerce giant, recently partnered up with Lions Gate Entertainment to allow the U.S. company's programs to be streamed on its set-top unit. Smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc. also recently pledged $1 billion to be put towards acquiring TV programs.

As part of the deal, Tencent now exclusively becomes the only company that's able to distribute HBO shows and movies to China through its online video platform.

Even though there are currently no companies authorized to distribute HBO shows in China, there's certainly a high demand for them as evident by Chinese film reviews.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Douban.com shows over 100,000 reviews for HBO'sGame of Thrones. Its most recent season 4 gathered more than 40,000 reviews alone and is the highest rated TV show among U.S. TV dramas.

"This partnership with Tencent Video ensures that Chinese fans will now be able to enjoy our dramas at the high level of quality they were meant to be experienced," said Charles Schreger, HBO's president of programming sales. 

TagsHBO, Tencent Holdings, tv shows, Game of Thrones, online video streaming, video distribution