9 December 2016

HOOQ introduces original content from Globe Studios

Globe Studios and HOOQ have confirmed the release of the first episode of an original series, OTJ: The Missing 8, in the first quarter of 2017.

In contrast to mainstream TV fare, the OTJ series will deliver a cinematic experience that is gritty and fast paced, staying true to its movie origins. The original movie was shown in 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival. Based on Erik Matti’s multi-­­award winning movie OTJ, or On The Job, the six-­­part series marks the first big production created exclusively for an online video service in the region.

The Season 1 premiere follows the story of four people - ­­Sisoy, a corrupt local media man under the payroll of Pedring, the treacherous father of the town's ruling political clan; Pam, a passionate and honest big network investigative journalist from Manila and Roman, a principled hired gun regularly brought out of prison to kill. 

Their paths cross when eight journalists from Sisoy's town are massacred by Roman’s group and buried without a trace a day before Christmas Eve. Pam jumps on the case just as Sisoy discovers his connection to Pedring won't help him find out what happened to his friends. Despite their differences, the two work together to untangle the web of lies, controversy and corruption in a media circus where truth is elusive. 

OTJ: The Missing 8 is co-­­produced by Reality Entertainment the independent film outfit of Matti and Dondon Monteverde in partnership with Globe Studios. Globe Senior Advisor for Consumer Business, Dan Horan says, “Globe Studios’ thrust is to create unique and original content for our customers whether they are at home or on mobile. OTJ is something familiar yet dangerous enough that shows how far we can push the limits of this exciting online medium.”

Globe Studios was launched by the telco last June as its original digital entertainment content arm that focuses on online shorts, subscription video on demand (SVOD) series and feature films among others. The OTJ series is also its first foray into co-­creating premium video-­­on-­­demand content.

“This is HOOQ’s first venture into producing original content, which is a natural alignment to our content strategy of differentiating our content and to play a part in growing the local content industry. HOOQ Originals will enhance our best-­­in-­­market content offering by adding exclusive local movies and TV series that are made for SVOD, and we are very excited about OTJ: The Series,” says Krishnan Rajagopalan, HOOQ Co-­­ Founder and Chief Content Officer.

"Creating a mini-­­series exclusively for a video-­­on-­­demand service like HOOQ allow us to push the limits of this new platform and the explore unique stories and get viewers more immersed in this compelling world we’re building,” said Director/producer Erik Matti.

HOOQ is Asia's first premium video-­­on-­­demand service to launch across the region. It is a joint venture established in January 2015 by Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Brothers. HOOQ currently operates in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Singapore with a population footprint of over 1.7 billion people. 

Interested?

HOOQ will be releasing OTJ: The Missing 8 across markets such as Thailand, India, Indonesia and the Philippines in early 2017. Globe customers can enjoy HOOQ on their mobile and home broadband plans. Subscriptions on mobile start at P149 for 30 days and soon will be available at P59 for seven days. Broadband customers can enjoy HOOQ as a free content add-­­on for six months on plans costing P1,299 and up. 

Interested?

Watch the teaser for the TV series