Cinedigm Unveils BAMBU, a New Chinese Content Entertainment Channel Launching in Q1 of 2019
BAMBU Will Feature Chinese Films, Series and Music Geared Towards American Viewers Ages 16-35, Available for Free or with a Premium Subscription
Los Angeles, CA(31 Oct 2018)
Cinedigm (CIDM) announced today the planned launch of BAMBU—a new Chinese content entertainment channel arriving in the First Quarter of 2019—and unveiled the channel’s logo. While the network will appeal to Americans of all ages, BAMBU’s primary focus is on Gen Z viewers ages 16-24, and Millennial viewers ages 25-35. These “digital natives” have been exposed to global culture from an early age, and hunger to stay at the forefront to discover the latest global trends—as evidenced by the unparalleled rise of Anime and K-Pop in North America in recent years. Together, those viewers represent over 27 percent of the U.S. population.
BAMBU aims to expand American appreciation of Chinese entertainment by providing viewers with a unique and innovative experience specializing in content previously unavailable to American audiences. Curated offerings will span far beyond typical martial arts and period epics, putting the spotlight on a diverse roster of content including contemporary action epics, serial dramas, romantic comedies, exciting sci-fi, pulse-pounding horror, and fantasy adventure sagas, as well as music and reality series, and educational programming ranging from instructional Chinese language courses to cultural cooking shows—all coming together to form the only complete Chinese entertainment platform in the United States. BAMBU will offer a variety of different programming options, constantly refreshing the channel’s content based on what is being enjoyed by its audience.
As one of the largest independent content aggregator/distributors in the Nation, Cinedigm will provide content for BAMBU from licensor partners, as well as from top Chinese licensors and distributors—giving viewers access to thousands of hours of content highlighting the nation’s most popular films and series. This potentially includes hundreds of hours of first-run television programs, made available through Cinedigm’s current partnership with state-run broadcaster Central China Television and others. Select titles include the bomb squad thriller Shock Wave, starring Andy Lau; the sci-fi epic Kung Fu Traveler; and Donnie Yen and Chow Yun-Fat in the 2016 fable The Monkey King: Havoc In Heaven’s Palace, among many others. In regards to series, BAMBU will feature the most watched show in Chinese TV history Journey to the West; fan-favorite Nirvana in Fire; the thriller Lost in Translation; the popular food/cooking documentary series A Bite of China; the fantasy crime show The Four and new hits such as The Advisors Alliance and Diamond Lover.
“Young Americans are incredibly culturally savvy, and proudly receptive to the latest global trends,” said Erick Opeka, Cinedigm’s President of Digital Networks. “BAMBU allows these modern tastemakers to stay at the cultural forefront, introducing them to a roster of new series and up-and-coming artists that they can discover and show their friends. It also presents tremendous potential for substantial marketing opportunities, opening up China’s prolific and profitable content industry to a massive American audience. This is phase one in what we envision as a fruitful partnership between the United States and China, enriching both cultures by providing them with the absolute best in Chinese and American entertainment, respectively.”
“BAMBU is another very important step in our bilateral content distribution strategy for China and North America,” said Bill Sondheim, President of Cinedigm Entertainment Group. “We have made tremendous progress in that regard over the last year with the key Bison, Starrise and Youku agreements, as well as many other important content and distribution deals with key Chinese media companies either announced or in final stages. BAMBU is the perfect vehicle to expose undiscovered quality film and TV content to North American audiences and provide vital feedback to Chinese producers, which should help them create Chinese content with the potential to be much more successful abroad.”
BAMBU further advances the Company’s strategy for the bilateral flow of content and OTT streaming networks between North America and China. Additionally, the Company believes BAMBU is an important vehicle to provide immediate and invaluable audience feedback to Chinese producers working to produce films and television for a global audience. This direct consumer data should help better inform the development process in China about the categories of entertainment content, stories and character that appeal most to an American and eventually global audience.
BAMBU will be available as both a free ad-supported AVOD, and an ad-free subscription-based SVOD providing premium top tier content for $3.99 a month, easily accessible across major streaming platforms.
ABOUT CINEDIGM
For twenty years, Cinedigm (CIDM) has been at the forefront of the digital transformation of entertainment. Today, Cinedigm continues that mission by providing content, channels and services to the world’s largest media, technology and retail companies. Our content aggregation and distribution services power the world’s leading digital platforms and retailers. Cinedigm’s Digital Networks group provides channels and services that entertain consumers globally across hundreds of millions of devices. For more information, visit www.cinedigm.com.