American classic movie television network
Television channel
Movies!
(also known as simply
M!
) is an American
free-to-air
television network
, owned by Popcorn Entertainment, LLC, a
joint venture
between
Weigel Broadcasting
and the
Fox Television Stations
subsidiary of
Fox Corporation
. The network's programming emphasizes
feature films
but also Modern
E/I
programming on Sunday mornings produced/distributed by Storrs Media/Telco Productions. The network's programming and advertising operations are based in Weigel Broadcasting's headquarters on
North Halsted Street
in
Chicago
,
Illinois
.
It is available in several
markets
through
digital subchannel
affiliations
with
free-to-air
television stations
, as well as through carriage on
pay television
providers through a local affiliate of the network.
[5]
Movies! provides programming 24 hours a day and broadcasts in the
16:9
widescreen
picture format,
[6]
available in either
standard definition
or
high definition
depending on the station's preference.
Though the network does air commercials, it otherwise carries film edits without profanity and content that does not meet FCC guidelines, and refuses broadcast syndication cuts of films, with no time slot constraints. A notation in the Movies! title card stating no film alterations is aired at the beginning of every film broadcast.
Short films
are aired to line up films to the top of the hour when needed, and to fill out time for a film that runs short.
Background
[
edit
]
On January 28, 2013, Fox Television Stations and Weigel Broadcasting announced the formation of Movies!, with plans to launch the network on
Memorial Day
of that year.
[3]
[5]
[6]
Movies! officially launched on May 27, 2013, at 8:10 a.m.
Eastern Time
, initially debuting on the subchannels of both of the network's co-parents: five
Fox
and 11
MyNetworkTV
owned-and-operated stations
owned by Fox Television Stations, and two stations owned by Weigel. Its programming was inaugurated by a ten-minute clip introducing the network, followed by the first film to be telecast on Movies!, the 1975 film
Western
Take a Hard Ride
.
[7]
[8]
Programming
[
edit
]
Films
[
edit
]
Described as presenting "a variety of theatrical motion pictures in a new, viewer and advertiser friendly format, not seen on broadcast television to date",
[9]
films featured on Movies! as of February 2022 primarily consist of releases from
The Walt Disney Company
,
Warner Bros.
,
Sony Pictures Entertainment
and
Shout! Factory
, but the network also shows content from
Paramount Pictures
,
Universal Pictures
, ReTV,
[10]
and
Peter Rodgers Organization
.
[
citation needed
]
[11]
The network's film roster concentrates mainly on classic films from the 1920s to the 1980s, though in recent years, films from the 1990s and select films from the 2000s and 2010s are also played.
[8]
As of August 2019, Movies! broadcasts featured movie presentations such as Noir to Die For all day every Thursday, Saturday Morning Movies! consisting of films from the Hopalong Cassidy, Laurel and Hardy and Blondie franchises, Popcorn Movies! every Saturday afternoon, Definitive Movies! every Saturday night and Sunday Night Noir. Movies! presents many of its features in their original
aspect ratio
(
widescreen
or full screen) whenever possible,
[5]
which are either presented in the
16:9
or
4:3
letterboxed
format depending on the affiliate's preference in transmitting the subchannel. Scope films, however, are often reformatted from
2.35:1
to 1.85:1.
Films that are broadcast on the network are edited for graphic
profanity
and inappropriate violent or sexual content, but are not edited for running times to fit in a set time block;
[12]
start and end times for films airing on the network are influenced by a combination of the film's original running time and the commercial breaks inserted within the broadcast (the network limits the amount of advertising featured during its programming to twelve minutes per hour),
[12]
[13]
with airtimes for films varying between the conventional top-and-bottom-of-the-hour scheduling (e.g., 6:30 a.m. or 8:00 p.m.) and incremental airtimes in margins of five minutes (e.g., 2:10 p.m. or 3:55 a.m.) that more closely mirror the scheduling structures of
premium cable channels
than those of other advertiser-supported networks
[7]
[8]
(this scheduling format, which still results in a particular film's running time to be somewhat longer than the original runtime of its theatrical release depending on the content edits, was replicated by
GetTV
when it launched in February 2014).
Children's programming
[
edit
]
In order to meet requirements imposed by the
Federal Communications Commission
on the amount of
educational programming content
that a broadcast station must air each week, Movies! airs a three-hour block of children's programs that were originally distributed for
syndication
on Sunday mornings supplied by Storrs Media/Telco Productions (currently featuring
Dog Tales Classics
,
Getting Green
and
Made in Hollywood: Teen Edition
). This allows its affiliates to carry the network's full schedule without having to purchase
E/I
programming from the syndication market to comply with the rules.
[8]
Affiliates
[
edit
]
As of July 2014, Movies! has current or pending affiliation agreements with television stations in 43
media markets
encompassing 22 states and the
District of Columbia
, covering approximately 49% of the United States.
[14]
[15]
Fox Television Stations and Weigel Broadcasting launched Movies! in markets served by a station owned-and-operated by the Fox network or its sister programming service MyNetworkTV. Not all of the Fox Television Stations outlets carried Movies! at launch,
WJZY
in
Charlotte
(which came under Fox ownership one month prior to the network's debut) did not begin carrying Movies! until July 1, 2014,
[14]
due to an existing affiliation agreement with
Antenna TV
.
In
Chicago
?where Fox Television Stations and Weigel Broadcasting each own television stations?Fox-owned
WFLD
serves as that market's charter affiliate of the network, instead of one of Weigel's three stations in that market (
WCIU-TV
,
WWME-CA
and
WMEU-CD
). This makes Movies! the first Weigel-owned network in which the company's Chicago
flagship
stations do not serve as affiliates (WCIU formerly carried This TV under Weigel ownership before it moved to
WGN-TV
upon becoming part-owned by
Tribune Broadcasting
in November 2013, and
MeTV
is carried on WWME-CD and relayed a subchannel of WCIU).
WBND-LD
in
South Bend
,
Indiana
carries Movies! on its third digital subchannel;
WMLW-TV
in
Milwaukee
carried the network from its launch until August 4, 2014, when Movies! moved to a newly created secondary subchannel of
ABC
affiliate
WISN-TV
.
[16]
Following the WISN deal, that station's owner
Hearst Television
signed affiliation agreements on a piecemeal basis to add Movies! to select stations, mainly those affiliated with networks other than ABC, during late 2014 and early 2015 (Hearst already carries sister network MeTV in a majority of the markets where it owns stations).
In addition to its carriage on the Fox- and Weigel-owned outlets at the network's launch, the network is also carried on the digital subchannels of television stations owned by other broadcasting companies.
[17]
Soon after its launch, Movies! reached distribution agreements with several broadcasting groups to add the network on the subchannels of some of their stations. The first stations outside of the Fox and Weigel outlets to sign deals to carry the network were
KFFV
in
Seattle
,
WLWC
in
Providence
(both owned by OTA Broadcasting) and
KPXJ
in
Shreveport
(owned by
KTBS, LLC
) in October 2013, with the three stations adding the network between November 10 and December 10.
[18]
The following month, in November 2013, Movies! signed affiliation agreements with nine stations owned by
Bonten Media Group
, Cocola Broadcasting and the Maranatha Broadcasting Company.
[19]
Four additional stations (in
Salt Lake City
;
Boise
;
Wausau
; and
Victoria, Texas
), through deals with companies such as the
Nexstar Broadcasting Group
and Saga Communications, added the network between May and October 2014.
[14]
In June 2022,
Frndly TV
announced the planned addition of Movies! to their streaming lineup.
[20]
[21]
However, after several months delay, Movies! was added on February 3, 2023.
[22]
[23]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Buckman, Adam (July 26, 2016).
"Diginets Keep Growing, Despite Auction Cloud"
.
TVNewsCheck
. NewsCheck Media
. Retrieved
November 7,
2016
.
- ^
"Movies! TV Network"
.
Movies! TV Network
.
ⓒ 2020 Popcorn Entertainment, LLC
- ^
a
b
Malone, Michael (March 25, 2013).
"This May Explain Why We Have a Shirtless 'Magnum, P.I.' on Our Cover Today"
.
Broadcasting & Cable
. Retrieved
June 12,
2014
.
- ^
"What channels does Frndly TV offer?"
.
frndlytv.com
. Retrieved
June 20,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
Staff (January 28, 2013).
"Fox Stations, Weigel Launching Movies! ? The 24-Hour Movie Network Will Debut on the Subchannels of 17 Fox O&Os This Spring"
.
TVNewsCheck
. Retrieved
June 12,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Michael Malone (January 28, 2013).
"Fox O&Os, Weigel Launch Movies! Digi-Net ? Another Player in Crowded Entertainment Subchannel Space"
.
Broadcasting & Cable
. Retrieved
June 12,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Duane Dudek (May 23, 2013).
"Weigel Introducing New Movies! Channel Monday"
.
The Dudek Abides (blog of the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
. Retrieved
June 12,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Movies TV Network ? Schedule"
.
Movies!
. May 27, 2013. Archived from
the original
on June 7, 2013.
- ^
Feder, Robert
(January 29, 2013).
"Weigel Creates New Digital Network for Fox TV Stations"
.
Time Out Chicago
. Retrieved
June 12,
2014
.
- ^
Don, James.
"Movies and Films"
.
videobuddyapp
. Retrieved
September 24,
2023
.
- ^
Gash, Chris (June 18, 2014).
"Wily Indies Succeed on Digital Channels Where Majors Struggle"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
July 8,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Dudek, Duane (May 23, 2013).
"Weigel introducing new MOVIES! channel Monday"
.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
. Retrieved
July 8,
2014
.
- ^
"megamovies.cc"
.
Wednesday, 28 December 2016
- ^
a
b
c
"Movies! Network Signs Five New Affiliates"
. TVNewsCheck. June 10, 2014
. Retrieved
July 5,
2014
.
- ^
"Stations for Network - Movies!"
.
RabbitEars.info
. Retrieved
January 18,
2015
.
- ^
"Facebook status: We can't wait to launch our new "Movies! Milwaukee" network on August 4!"
.
WISN-TV
via
Facebook
. July 25, 2014
. Retrieved
July 30,
2014
.
- ^
Kevin Eck (January 31, 2013).
"Fox to Debut All Movie Network for Local TV Digital Subchannels"
. TVSpy (blog of
Mediabistro.com
)
. Retrieved
June 12,
2014
.
- ^
"Movies! Adds Seattle, Providence, Shreveport"
.
TVNewsCheck
. October 8, 2013
. Retrieved
July 8,
2014
.
- ^
"The Movies! Diginet Adds Nine Affiliates"
.
TVNewsCheck
. November 7, 2013
. Retrieved
July 8,
2014
.
- ^
"Frndly TV-Watch Movies!"
.
Frndly TV
. Retrieved
June 30,
2022
.
- ^
Tamanini, Matt (June 30, 2022).
"Frndly TV to Add Classic Film Channel Movies! to Streaming Lineup"
.
The Streamable
. Retrieved
December 30,
2022
.
- ^
Watch Live on Frndly TV Movies! Coming Soon
- ^
Bouma, Luke (February 3, 2023).
"Frndly TV Finally Adds The Movies! Channel to Its Lineup"
.
Cord Cutters News
. Retrieved
February 3,
2023
.
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