Celestial Tiger Entertainment

Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE) is a Hong Kong-based diversified media company focused on pay television, regional content distribution, and digital entertainment services. The company was established in 2008 as Tiger Gate Entertainment, a joint venture between Saban Capital Group and Lionsgate. Its initial business centered on developing and distributing specialized television channels for Asian markets. In August 2009, the company launched Kix, an action-oriented channel, and Thrill, a channel devoted to horror, thriller, and suspense programming. A major change in the company’s scope occurred in late 2011, when Celestial Pictures Limited joined the venture. Celestial Pictures brought its established Chinese-language film properties and channels, including Celestial Movies and Celestial Classic Movies, into the combined business. Following that partnership, Tiger Gate Entertainment adopted the name Celestial Tiger Entertainment. The expanded company added high-definition feeds to existing channels and combined Celestial Pictures’ Asian film assets with Tiger Gate’s international television and distribution capabilities. CTE’s channel portfolio has covered several distinct audience segments. Celestial Movies has focused on current Asian films and related entertainment coverage, while Celestial Classic Movies has drawn on classic Hong Kong and Chinese-language cinema. Kix has offered action films and series, mixed martial arts, reality programming, and extreme sports. Thrill has concentrated on horror and suspense content. Miao Mi has served children with Mandarin-language programming. Other services have included cHK, a Hong Kong entertainment and showbiz channel launched in Singapore in 2013; CM+, a Singapore service centered on recent Asian blockbusters and exclusive films; and PopC, a Chinese online-movie channel offered in Hong Kong. Some services have been distributed only in selected territories or have subsequently ceased operations, reflecting the company’s market-by-market approach to channel carriage. The company has also operated as a regional distributor for Lionsgate content. CTE has used Lionsgate’s film and television library, alongside the Shaw Brothers film library associated with Celestial Pictures, to license programming to broadcasters, pay-TV operators, and digital platforms. In the early 2010s, this activity included the sale of Lionsgate films and television series to media companies in China and Southeast Asia. Reported titles included programming from The Hunger Games franchise, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, and Anger Management. The distribution business later extended into Japan and South Korea and included subscription-video arrangements with Singapore’s MediaCorp digital platform Toggle. CTE has continued to adapt its offering beyond linear television. On August 15, 2024, it launched CMGO in Singapore, described as its first Chinese-movie streaming application. Malaysia followed on November 19, 2024. CMGO focuses on Chinese-language and regional films from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. This move illustrates the company’s shift from a primarily channel-based model toward a combination of pay-TV brands, content licensing, and direct or platform-based digital distribution. Its business remains geographically concentrated in Asia, with channel availability varying substantially by market and distribution partner.

Celestial Tiger Entertainment began in 2008 under the name Tiger Gate Entertainment. It was formed as a joint venture between Saban Capital Group and Lionsgate to develop and distribute pay-television entertainment services in Asia. The company’s first major channel launches came in August 2009, when it introduced Kix and Thrill. Kix was positioned around action films and series, mixed martial arts, reality television, and extreme sports, while Thrill specialized in horror, suspense, and thriller programming. Their genre-focused identities gave the venture a way to target particular audience segments rather than compete solely as a general entertainment network. The company’s structure and content base changed substantially in late 2011, when Celestial Pictures Limited joined Tiger Gate Entertainment. Celestial Pictures contributed established Chinese-language film assets and the Celestial Movies and Celestial Classic Movies channels. The resulting business adopted the name Celestial Tiger Entertainment, combining Celestial Pictures’ Asian cinema heritage with Tiger Gate’s pay-TV and regional distribution operations. The combined company subsequently developed high-definition feeds for existing channels and expanded its portfolio across Asian television markets. In 2013, CTE launched cHK in Singapore. The channel was designed as a Hong Kong general-entertainment and showbiz service, with launch promotion featuring Hong Kong celebrities. CTE’s channel portfolio later included or supported several specialized brands: Celestial Movies for current Asian films, Celestial Classic Movies for older Hong Kong and Chinese-language cinema, Miao Mi for Mandarin-language children’s programming, CM+ for recent Asian blockbusters and exclusive films, and PopC for Chinese online movies. Availability differed by country and distributor. Some channels were carried across multiple Asian territories, while others were limited to a single market or were later withdrawn from particular markets. Content licensing became a second important pillar. CTE has worked with Lionsgate to distribute film and television programming in Greater China and Southeast Asia, using both traditional broadcaster sales and digital video arrangements. A 2012 agreement involving YOU On Demand and Lionsgate covered selected Lionsgate films for transactional and subscription video-on-demand distribution in China. In 2013, CTE reported selling more than 1,700 hours of Lionsgate television and film content to broadcasters and media platforms in China and Southeast Asia. The regional relationship was also expanded to Japan and South Korea, and a further package of approximately 700 hours was sold for MediaCorp’s Toggle digital platform in Singapore. The library included recognized Lionsgate properties such as The Hunger Games, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, and Anger Management. The company’s catalog strategy also draws on the Shaw Brothers film library associated with Celestial Pictures. This gives CTE a mix of contemporary international content and historical Chinese-language cinema, supporting both linear channels and digital licensing. Its operations therefore span channel ownership or operation, content aggregation, rights sales, and platform partnerships rather than a single television network model. CTE moved further into direct digital distribution in 2024. On August 15, it launched CMGO in Singapore, its first Chinese-movie streaming application, and expanded the service to Malaysia on November 19. CMGO focuses on films from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The service represents a strategic extension of CTE’s long-running Chinese-film and regional-content activities into an on-demand environment. Public reference material establishes the company’s principal brands, partnerships, launches, and distribution activities, but does not provide a complete current ownership breakdown, executive roster, financial profile, or confirmed status for every channel in every market.

• 2024

  CMGO launches in Singapore

  [1]Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  CTE launches CMGO on August 15 as a Chinese-movie streaming application covering films from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.

• 2024

  CMGO launches in Malaysia

  [1]Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  CMGO expands to Malaysia on November 19.

• 2013

  cHK launches in Singapore

  [1]Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  CTE introduces cHK, a Hong Kong-focused general entertainment and showbiz-news channel.

• 2013

  Regional Lionsgate content distribution broadens

  [1]Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  CTE distributes more than 1,700 hours of Lionsgate television and film programming in China and Southeast Asia and expands the regional arrangement to Japan and South Korea.

• 2012

  Lionsgate video-on-demand distribution expands in China

  [1]Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  A deal involving YOU On Demand and Lionsgate provides for selected Lionsgate films to be offered through transactional and subscription video-on-demand services in China.

• 2011

  Celestial Pictures joins the venture

  [1]Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  Celestial Pictures joins Tiger Gate Entertainment, bringing its film library and established movie channels into the business.

• 2011

  The company is renamed Celestial Tiger Entertainment

  [1]Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  Following the Celestial Pictures partnership, Tiger Gate Entertainment adopts the Celestial Tiger Entertainment name and adds high-definition channel feeds.

• 2009

  Kix and Thrill launch

  [1]Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  The company launches Kix and Thrill in August as genre-focused pay-TV channels.

• 2008

  Tiger Gate Entertainment is founded

  [1]Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org

  Tiger Gate Entertainment is established as a joint venture between Saban Capital Group and Lionsgate, with a focus on Asian pay television.

A regional Asian entertainment platform combining specialized pay-TV channels, Chinese-language movie brands, international content distribution, and emerging streaming services.

• Asian film television channel

  Celestial Movies

  A movie and entertainment channel centered on current Asian films and related entertainment coverage. It has been distributed in markets including Malaysia, Brunei, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore, with availability dependent on local television operators.

• Classic Chinese-language film television channel

  Celestial Classic Movies

  A channel built around classic Hong Kong and Chinese-language cinema, drawing on the film heritage and library associated with Celestial Pictures and the Shaw Brothers catalog. It has been carried in a number of Asian and Australian markets, with its exact availability changing by territory.

• Action and sports entertainment channel · 2009

  Kix

  A genre channel launched in 2009 featuring action films and television series, mixed martial arts, reality television, and extreme sports. It has been available in several Asian markets and was also extended to Africa from October 2020.

• Horror and suspense television channel · 2009

  Thrill

  A genre-focused channel dedicated to horror, thriller, and suspense programming. The service has operated across selected Asian territories, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Philippines, while availability in other markets has changed over time.

• Children’s television channel

  Miao Mi

  A Mandarin-language children’s channel serving family audiences with Chinese-language kids’ programming. Reference material identifies distribution in Thailand and South Korea.

• Hong Kong general entertainment channel · 2013

  cHK

  A Hong Kong-oriented general entertainment and showbiz-news channel launched in Singapore in 2013. The service was positioned around local Hong Kong entertainment coverage and was available in Singapore until 2021.

• Asian blockbuster movie channel

  CM+

  A Singapore television service focused on recent Asian blockbusters and exclusive movie programming. It was distributed through Singtel TV.

• Chinese online-movie channel

  PopC

  A Chinese online-movie service offered in Hong Kong through the myTV SUPER platform. It represents CTE’s use of digital and platform-based distribution alongside conventional pay television.

• Chinese-movie streaming application · 2024

  CMGO

  CTE’s first Chinese-movie streaming application, launched in Singapore in August 2024 and expanded to Malaysia in November 2024. The service focuses on recent films from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, extending CTE’s movie-channel and licensing expertise into on-demand streaming.

• 2024

  Enter Chinese-movie streaming with CMGOProduct launch

  Background

  The company expanded beyond linear pay television and licensed content distribution as audiences increasingly accessed films through on-demand platforms.

  Action taken

  CTE launched CMGO in Singapore on August 15, 2024, and in Malaysia on November 19, 2024.

  Aftermath

  CMGO gave CTE a direct streaming proposition focused on Chinese and Southeast Asian cinema.

  Source

• 2013

  Expand Lionsgate regional distributionStrategy

  Background

  CTE used its regional distribution network to commercialize Lionsgate film and television rights across Asian broadcasters and digital platforms.

  Action taken

  The company sold more than 1,700 hours of Lionsgate television and film content in China and Southeast Asia, expanded coverage to Japan and South Korea, and arranged a further package for MediaCorp’s Toggle platform.

  Aftermath

  The move reinforced CTE’s role as a regional content distributor in addition to its channel operations.

  Source

• 2011

  Combine Tiger Gate Entertainment with Celestial PicturesM&A

  Background

  Tiger Gate Entertainment sought to broaden its Asian entertainment portfolio by joining with Celestial Pictures, which brought established Chinese-language movie channels and film-library assets.

  Action taken

  Celestial Pictures joined the venture, the business was renamed Celestial Tiger Entertainment, and high-definition feeds were added to existing channels.

  Aftermath

  The combined company operated both specialized international genre channels and Chinese-language movie services.

  Source

1. 1Celestial Tiger Entertainmenten.wikipedia.org