Japanese cable channel operator Jupiter Entertainment Co Ltd has acquired the rights to a slate of more than 80 theatrical motion picture titles for broadcast in Japan.

The three year licensing deal with Warner Bros International Television will see the titles shown on cable specialty channel Movie Plus.

The announcement was jointly made today by Hiroyuki Nakatani, Jupiter’s representative director and president and Mitsuru Oda, vice president and general manager, Warner Brothers International Television.

The slate licensed for Movie Plus includes both recent and library titles such as Oscar winner The Departed, Blood Diamond, The Bodyguard and Goonies.

Established in 1989, Movie Plus is Japan’s largest movie specialty channel, reaching 7.58 million homes as of the end of March.

Jupiter Entertainment is a channel operation subsidiary of Jupiter Telecommunications, one of Japan’s largest cable and internet providers under the J:COM brand.

In November last year, Jupiter’s high-definition video on demand (VoD) channel, Jupiter On Demand, offered Warner Brothers’ title Speed Raceras a day-and-date release with the DVD on November 19. The strategy marked an industry first for a Hollywood title in the territory.

Warner Brothers was the most successful Hollywood distributor in Japan last year, with approximately $165.24m (Y16.39b) in earnings, augmented by ongoing activity in local production and distribution.

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