Cable network Home Box Office (HBO) is set to acquire a $10 million strategic stake in online DVD company Quickflix.
It follows a deal between the two companies last month, where Quickflix agreed to stream HBO's TV and film content in Australia.
HBO is the USA’s largest premium television company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner. The $10 million investment – which will give HBO 15.7 per cent of the company – has been approved by the Quickflix board but will also require the approval of shareholders.
Quickflix executive chairman and founder Stephen Langsford said: "Quickflix is achieving strong subscriber growth and we’re rapidly rolling out our streaming service. The funds from HBO’s investment will enable Quickflix to execute its strategy for growth and profitability.”
The new agreement comes just a few months after Quickflix launched its new instant movie streaming service, Watch Now, which enables PC and Mac owners in Australia to stream unlimited movies from Hollywood’s top studios. The company is aggressively expanding its online streaming capabilities as competition with new ISP entrants and entrenched players such as Telstra's T-Box ramps up.
HBO titles available via Quickflix will include Entourage, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Band of Brothers and The Pacific later this month. Programs currently airing in the US will be available on Quickflix 12 to 18 months after their first run although Quickflix has said that pay-per-view options will appear later this year.