Tencent signs deal to stream HBO content

Tencent Holdings (0700.HKG) announced a deal yesterday with HBO to stream the network’s content in China, The New York Times reported. Chinese Internet TV companies have spent over $1 billion dollars on foreign content over the last two years in an attempt to draw more viewers, but this has been met with increasingly stringent government regulation. In May, China’s authorities ordered streaming services to take down the popular American shows “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Good Wife,” “NCIS” and “The Practice.” Tencent will now be the exclusive online provider in China for shows featuring much more gore and nudity, such as “Game of Thrones.”