Alibaba partners for mould-breaking home entertainment package

People ride a double bicycle past a logo of the Alibaba Group at the company's headquarters on the outskirts of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province Nov 10, 2014.[Photo/Agencies]

CHANGSHA - E-commerce giant Alibaba has partnered with Chinese broadcaster Hunan TV and film production and distribution company DMG Entertainment to launch China's first home entertainment platform bundling subscription for Internet, phone and TV.

The package, which includes Alibaba's massive range of film and TV, shopping, music, gaming and education content as well as DMG's foreign film library, will initially be offered to Hunan TV's six million cable TV subscribers, the partners announced at a launch ceremony in the central Chinese city of Changsha on Monday.

"With the integration of television network and Internet, the combination of terminal, technology and content will truly be realized," said Zhang Yong, Alibaba's CEO.

Besides watching TV and films, customers will also be able to purchase products through their televisions.

The move is part of Alibaba's expansion of its entertainment business. The company said in June that it would launch a Netflix-style streaming service called TBO in the coming months.

Hunan TV is also expanding significantly. Its listed arm, Broadcast Intermediary Co, sealed a deal with American film studio Lionsgate in March to invest $1.5 billion in co-productions in the next three years.