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| Industry | Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007; 19 years ago (2007) |
| Headquarters | Taipei,Taiwan |
Key people | Cher Wang,Chen Chu Wan,Daphne Yang |
| Products | |
| Parent | CATCHPLAY Media Holding Company |
| Website | www.catchplay.com |
CATCHPLAY is a Taiwanese multimedia company. The business includesover-the-topVODstreaming service,linear television channel operation (CATCHPLAY Movie Channel), and theatrical film distribution. It operates as the Taiwanese branch of CATCHPLAY, Inc. (Chinese:威望國際娛樂股份有限公司), a company registered in theCayman Islands.[citation needed]
In 2014 the brand began expanding into other areas of the movie entertainment industry. Its first production investment was co-financing the Taiwanese filmParadise in Service. Since then, CATCHPLAY has expanded its investments to include threeNew Regency films, most notablyThe Revenant andAssassin’s Creed in 2016–17. In 2015, CATCHPLAY began partnering with local telecom providers across Southeast Asia to launch CATCHPLAY On Demand, a premium movie on-demand service.[1]
Originally established in 2005 in Fremont, CA,VIA OnDemand announced its digital download offering duringComputex in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2006.[1] They later rebranded as CATCHPLAY. In 2008, CATCHPLAY announced its intention to expand into theatrical distribution and relocated to Taiwan.
Capitalizing on the digitalization of Taiwan's pay-to-view TV, CATCHPLAY Movie Channel launched in early 2013. Today the service has approximately one million subscribers and is one of Taiwan's most popular digital movie channels. The channel officially replacedStar Chinese Movies on January 1, 2024, following the earlier channel closure due toDisney+ rollouts.[2]
CATCHPLAY made its first feature film investment by co-financing the Taiwanese filmParadise in Service; which premiered as the opening film at the 2014Busan International Film Festival. That same year, CATCHPLAY co-produced20 Once Again withCJ Entertainment and the film went on to gross $380M RMB at the box office in China.[3]
In early 2015, CATCHPLAY established a partnership to invest in threeNew Regency titles –The Revenant,Assassin’s Creed andSplinter Cell – marking the first investment by a Taiwanese company in major Hollywood productions.[4] CATCHPLAY and its partners exclusively distributed the films in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Additionally, CATCHPLAY supported shooting for and invested in the production ofMartin Scorsese’s passion project,Silence, which was shot entirely in Taiwan.
In July 2020, CATCHPLAY partnered with Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) to form the joint venture SCREENWORKS ASIA, aiming to support the development of Taiwanese films and TV series.[5] They were credited onthe second season of coming-of-age family dramedyThe Making of An Ordinary Woman and their first unscripted talk showDee's Talk. CATCHPLAY was also a co-producer and co-distributor ofThe World Between Us alongsideHBO Asia.
