TELEVISION: Home Box Office is well known...

TELEVISION: Home Box Office is well known for taking risks the broadcast networks would never consider when it comes to commissioning their own TV movies (“Barbarians at the Gate,” “And the Band Played On”). But unless you were lucky enough to get cable TV in Hungary or could afford HBO’s Latin America feed, the films were not widely available outside the United States. Until now. HBO has made an agreement with Communications Entertainment Corp. to distribute its films overseas. The deal covers up to 12 movies a year. “For a long time we’ve been making what we consider to be theatrical films that premiered on HBO,” says Charles Schreger, vice president of HBO Enterprises. “But the license fees hardly cover the costs. So we look to other markets” to defray costs.