LOS ANGELES / BEIJING - Time Warner Inc will offer Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 and other movies on-demand to television viewers in China, an agreement that may pave the way for similar moves by other Hollywood studios.

Warner Bros Entertainment Inc will work with You On Demand Holdings Inc to distribute films through on-demand and pay-per-view formats this summer. New York-based You On Demand is discussing similar agreements with other US studios, Chief Executive Officer Shane McMahon said in an interview.

The deal initially gives Warner Bros access to 3 million cable households. You On Demand has an exclusive 20-year agreement to provide US content to the pay-TV arm of CCTV6, the national movie channel of China Central Television.

"The unbelievable amount of content that's being watched over there ... was a huge indicator to me that there is a huge demand," said McMahon, former executive vice-president for global marketing at World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.

The agreement coincides with efforts in China to reduce movie piracy, McMahon said.

You On Demand plans eventually to be available in all of China's 200 million cable television homes, McMahon said.

Bloomberg News