The two channels were being promoted at the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) conference which kicked off in Hong Kong today (Oct 28).
Tiger Gate, the new Lionsgate-backed venture spearheaded by former Celestial Pictures chief William Pfeiffer, has been quietly acquiring content and negotiating carriage deals across East Asia and India in recent months. An official launch for the venture and two channels is expected towards the end of the year.
Asian action channel KIX will feature films and TV series, including programming based around mixed martial arts, the latest full-contact combat craze, which is building huge fan-bases internationally.
Thrill will show a mix of US and Asian movies themed around thrillers, suspense, horrors and the supernatural. It will also show a smaller proportion of TV series such as the Lionsgate-produced horror series Fear Itself.
Tiger Gate is also planning to enter film and TV production and has started hiring production, distribution and marketing executives for its Hong Kong-based operations.
The new venture is also expected to work closely with Indian film giant Eros International which has a wide-ranging joint venture with Lionsgate, unveiled at Cannes earlier this year. The deal sees Lionsgate and Eros distributing each other's product in their respective markets - as well as producing Indian-language remakes of Lionsgate and third-party films.
The CASBAA conference runs through until Oct 30 and features high-profile speakers such as Barry Diller, chairman & CEO of InterActiveCorp, ITV Worldwide president Peter Iacono and Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific president Steve Marcopoto.
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