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The Movie Network
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The Movie Network is a Canadian English language premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories. The name was formerly abbreviated to TMN, which remains a common informal name and is therefore used below for brevity.
The Movie Network is carried by various Canadian cable and satellite television providers in Eastern Canada including Bell TV, Star Choice, Rogers Digital Cable, Vidéotron, EastLink, Cogeco and more.
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Encyclopedia
The Movie Network is a Canadian English language premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories. The name was formerly abbreviated to TMN, which remains a common informal name and is therefore used below for brevity.
The Movie Network is carried by various Canadian cable and satellite television providers in Eastern Canada including Bell TV, Star Choice, Rogers Digital Cable, Vidéotron, EastLink, Cogeco and more. It is the equivalent of Movie Central, which is available in western Canada.
Channels and content
The Movie Network consists of a total of five 24-hour multiplex channels and two high definition channels. TMN operates as a separate service with a separate licence then its sister network, Mpix, although often Mpix is sold together in a package with The Movie Network.
List of channels
- The Movie Network or M: the main "flagship" channel that offers scripted films and documentaries, various content from the American pay services HBO and Showtime along with Canadian programming.
- MFun!: airs comedic and light-hearted films, specials and series.
- MFest: airs independent and foreign films.
- The Movie Network HD or M HD: is a high definition channel that launched in May 2005. The channel mirrors the programming in HD on TMN's main channel, M.
- MExcess: offers action & adventure films, TV series and late-night adult content.
- HBO Canada: offers original programming sourced from American premium service HBO. (formerly MMore)
- HBO Canada HD: a secondary high definition channel that mirrors the programming of HBO Canada. It originally launched on February 1, 2007 as MMore HD.
- The Movie Network OnDemand: is a subscription video on demand service delivering select content from The Movie Network and all of its multiplex channels.
Programmes broadcast on TMN are rated according to the Ontario Film Review Board.
Noted series
HBO Canada
On September 22, 2008, both TMN and Movie Central announced they would jointly begin offering a dedicated HBO multiplex channel (in both standard definition and high definition formats), called HBO Canada, on October 30. For TMN subscribers, HBO Canada replaced MMore and MMore HD. For Movie Central subscribers, HBO Canada replaced Movie Central 4 and Movie Central 1 HD. The channel remains available at no additional charge to TMN / Movie Central subscribers and, moreover, is not available on a stand-alone basis.
The channel focuses on programming from the U.S. premium service Home Box Office, including several HBO series, specials and sporting events not previously available in Canada. A selection of Canadian films and series also airs to satisfy Canadian content requirements. HBO programming eventually airs solely on HBO Canada, as opposed to any of the other TMN / Movie Central multiplex channels.
The HBO Canada schedule is common to both services, with the exception of Eastern (TMN) / Mountain (MC) timeshifting. Although essentially operating as a joint venture of Astral and Movie Central's parent company Corus Entertainment, the east and west feeds are technically separate channels wholly owned by the parent company of the applicable regional service. In any event, HBO is not a shareholder.
History
In 1976, Communications Minister Jeanne Sauvé was quoted as saying "(Canadian) pay television is inevitable".
During the 1970s when HBO and Superstation WTBS became available on satellite in North America, some Canadians who were living in underserved rural areas, wanted access to these services. The Saskatchewan government together with Cable Regina set up a provincial pay-TV network called Teletheatre in 1979.
Growth of grey market TVRO dishes by 1980 led the government of Pierre Trudeau to allow for pay television in Canada, and that there would be hearings to licence Canadian pay television networks.
In September, 1981 the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) held a hearing in Hull, Quebec to licence Canada's first pay-television networks. There were more than 24 applicants.
A pay-TV licence was issued by the CRTC to First Choice Canadian Communications Corp. on March 18, 1982. When First Choice, as TMN was then known, was launched on February 1, 1983, it was a national pay-TV service. After a disappointing run for pay services in general, the industry was restructured and First Choice was restricted to eastern Canada, with competitor Superchannel (now Movie Central) taking territorial rights in the west. Both services briefly used the First Choice-Superchannel name. In the 1990s, First Choice took the slogan "The Movie Network", which became the name of the channel itself in 1993.
The first movie ever to air on First Choice (now TMN) was Star Wars.
They were also licensed for and owned a French-language channel called Premier Choix, which merged with another (Quebec-based) pay-television network TVEC, to form Super Écran, which is still in operation today.
Ownership
When First Choice initially made its application to the CRTC in September 1981, the following individuals and companies were part of the proposed channel:
- Donald Sobey - of the Sobeys supermarket chain
- J. R. McCaig
- Norman Keevil
- Royfund Equity Ltd. - Royal Bank of Canada mutual fund division
- AGF Management Ltd.
- Manufacturers Life Insurance Co.
Together they had $19 million in equity financing and proposed to spend $310.4 million over five years on Canadian television production. Estimated profit (over five years) would be $3.1 million.
Today, The Movie Network is owned by Astral Media of Montreal.
Management
- Donald MacPherson, First Choice President 1983-1984
- Harold Greenberg, First Choice President 1984-1996
Programming
Before other Canadian specialty networks like TSN and MuchMusic were licensed, First Choice was the network for watching premium (commercial-free) professional sporting and concert events. Sports came from such sources as ESPN, USA Network, and HBO.
Before the advent of stereo television and home theatre systems we have today, subscribers who paid for cable FM service could receive a stereo feed of First Choice.
Its slogan was: "Look out for number one! Look out for First Choice!"
Controversy
First Choice originally aired programming from the American Playboy Channel. Feminist groups voiced their opposition to this. First Choice aired a two-hour block of Playboy programming during a late night time slot on Friday during its first year.
Pricing
When First Choice applied to the CRTC, they initially estimated that to program major American movies, entertainment specials and Canadian movies and specials, pay for satellite time, and marketing of the channel, they could sell it to the cable companies at a wholesale rate of $7.50/month. However, by the time the channel launched, and the cable companies had their take of the pay-TV pie, the retail cost of First Choice jumped significantly to $15.95.
Duopoly issue
For many years, the de facto twin regional monopolies of The Movie Network and Movie Central has been subject to criticism. At the time, no other similar premium services broadcasted within Canada. Critics argued that this limits competition and consumer choice, while proponents say there is very little in content or functionality that it is not already offered by the existing services.
In July 2005, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Canadian federal broadcast regulator, announced that public hearings would begin on October 24, 2005 on four broadcast group applications for new national pay TV licences. Each applicant said they would commit towards the creation of more Canadian program content.
On May 18, 2006, it was announced that the Allarco Entertainment application was accepted, while the other three were rejected. This approved application effectively ended The Movie Network/Movie Central duopoly in Canada. On November 2, 2007, the new service launched as Super Channel.
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