American premium cable and satellite television provider HBO is collaborating with China Movie Channel to co-produce movies intended for Chinese audiences, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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HBO's deal with China Movie Channel is the New York City-based company's first foray into the massive Chinese TV market, which has approximately 1.2 billion viewers. China Movie Channel is otherwise known as CCTV-6 and is the flagship entertainment channel of China Central Television,

"We're very excited to be partnering with HBO on high-quality TV movies," Zhang Ling, China Movie Channel vice president told The Hollywood Reporter.

Zhang added that the joint venture's business model will be discussed in detail during the Shanghai International Film Festival scheduled for June 11 to 18.

Under the new deal, China Movie Channel will locally air the titles agreed upon while HBO will handle the overseas broadcasting.

The state-backed CCTV-6 is no stranger to Hollywood. Aside from being the official broadcaster of the Academy Awards, it has also invested in several foreign films including Paramount's Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and Skydance Production's Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015).

The company has revealed its upcoming project, Angry Birds, which is expected to fly into China on May 20. But that does not end there as Zhang reveals more investments is yet to come. "The door is open to more collaboration with Hollywood," he said.

Although HBO refused to comment on the news, the company has been aggressively increasing its international production. In fact, it has produced several local-language drama series across Latin America, Singapore, and Eastern Europe.

TagsHBO, China Movie Channel, CCTV-6, China Central Television, hollywood, Angry Birds