HBO signs digital TV deal

American TV producer HBO signed a deal to broadcast six hours of programming daily on state-owned CCTV's digital pay TV channel, First Theatre, state media reported. Financial details of the deal were not given. HBO, owned by media giant Time-Warner, already has a content deal with Shanghai Media Group to provide 50 American films to 20,000 pay TV users every month. Digital TV has been slow to take off in China, largely because of a lack of compelling content to draw consumers, analysts say. According to the latest figures, China has some 2m digital TV subscribers, while the number of traditional TV subscribers stands at 340m.