HBO bets heavily on its new original series -- The Pacific

The movie channel, HBO, as part of its special offering, 'HBO Original Series', is preparing to launch its most expensive production -- The Pacific.

The Pacific will premiere on HBO on May 30 at 11 pm. The series has been scheduled right after the blockbuster movie at 9 pm.

The mini-series is an account of war experiences of three US Marines during World War II. The Pacific documents US Marines' clash with the Japanese, and their triumphant march back home. It has been produced at a cost of US $200 million.

The Pacific is, in part, based on two literary works - 'With the Old Breed' by Eugene B. Sledge, and 'Helmet for My Pillow' by Robert Leckie. The war story has been produced by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. In the past, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have given HBO one of its most popular HBO Original Series, Band of Brothers.

Bajpai informs that this year, The Pacific is among the biggest offerings in the HBO Original Series. Besides, three other original productions have been lined up for later this year. These include Bored to Death, and two series nominated at the Golden Globe awards -- Hung and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

Given that The Pacific is the costliest and most ambitious project on HBO this year, the channel is giving a heavy marketing push to the series.

Without divulging the marketing budget for the series, Bajpai points out, "We have been promoting our original series as a package; this time too, the case is similar. We are focusing on positioning The Pacific as the biggest attraction on the movie channel. We have a month- long promotional campaign, as part of which we are carrying out a lot of innovations in publications such as The Times of India, Mumbai Mirror, Bangalore Mirror and Hindustan Times. This is being supported by hoardings in metros."