(14 May 2008 5:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Star TV and Tsutaya Discas, Japan’s leading online content provider, today announced an agreement for the Japanese major to distribute 20 movie titles from Star’s Fortune Star library via Internet in Japan, reportedly on a revenue sharing basis.

The titles include Bruce Lee’s “Fist of Fury” and “Way of the Dragon”, Jackie Chan’s “Project A” series, and the hugely popular “A Chinese Ghost Story” series.

Starting 14 May, movie buffs in Japan will be able to watch their favourite Hong Kong classic hits online via TSUTAYA DISCAS’s ER (Electronic Rental) and EST (Electronic Sell Thru) downloading, a statement from the company says.

"This agreement marks the first time that our Fortune Star titles will be distributed online in Japan. We look forward to the opportunity of distributing our library to a wider audience globally,” said Star program syndication and distribution VP Yvonne Chuang.

Star owns an extensive library of multi-language content that has been successful so far in Asia.

The library includes Fortune Star, which the company claims to be the world's largest contemporary Chinese language feature film library.

Also available for syndication and distribution is Star's 20,000-hour library of top-rated Indian and Chinese television programming.

Among the titles in this library are India's most watched daily dramas such as “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” and “Sapna Babul Ka… Bidaai”, as well as No.1 Taiwanese music variety programmes “Lollipop” and “Blackie's Teenage Club”.