TMC The Movie Channel is a part of the Showtime Network family of channels.
About TMC The Movie Channel
TMC, The Movie Channel, was born back in the early 1970's and operated as the Star channel. It wasn't until 1979, after it was purchased by Warner Brothers (though it has subsequently changed hands), that its name was changed to The Movie Channel. The channel was relaunched, rebranded and revamped into what it is today. Here are some other facts and tidbits of trivia about TMC:
- The first premium channel to air R-rated movies in the daytime - Currently, all the premium channels, including Showtime and Cinemax air R-rated movies during the day. HBO is one of the only premium channels that does not.
- TMC begins airing films in stereo - Another first for TMC. This practice began in 1981 and eventually all the other premium channels followed suit.
- Was dropped once from cable providers - TMC was dropped from many cable providers and some didn't even carry the channel. It wasn't until it became part of the Showtime package that it was widely offered across almost all cable television providers.
There are two Multiplex channels offered by TMC:
- The Movie Channel
- The Movie Channel Xtra
The Movie Channel Programs
Along with movies, The Movie Channel offers a few special programming blocks worth checking out.
Double Vision Weekends
Twice a month, TMC execs choose an actor they want to showcase for its "Double Vision Weekends" program. Three movies featuring the actor are then aired in a block on the chosen weekends.
TMC Overnight
This programming block features a "must-see" movie and airs weekly during the very early (or very late, however you see it) morning hours, usually around three in the morning. Back when TMC Overnight first began, execs deemed these movies worthy of recording on a VCR. Now, since the VCR is pretty much obsolete, the movies featured on TMC Overnight are deemed DVR worthy.
Movie Marathons
The Movie Marathon programming block is centered around a theme. The theme is generally either a specific actor, airing three or four films in which the actor stars, or a specific genre, airing three or four films from that genre.
First Run Movies
The First Run Movies feature on The Movie Channel airs films that were produced but never distributed. Most of these films never made it to the big screen nor were they ever released straight to video or DVD.
Video on Demand
For those who don't have the time or don't want to wait for a film's scheduled airtime, The Movie Channel, like most other premium channels, offers a Video on Demand (VOD) service called The Movie Channel on Demand. The genres offered for this service are:
- Action
- Adventure
- Drama
- Comedy
- Horror (tagged as "Splatterday")
- Midnight Movies
TMC Extras
Though the tagline for TMC is "Movies for movie lovers", the channel does air some shorter, special programming:
- The Reel Stuff - This program features behind the scenes footage of some of the movies featured on The Movie Channel. It also includes bits of trivia and lesser known facts about the films and the actors featured in them.
- The Pitch - This is a two-minute sketch that features an actor from the movie that is about to air, posing as a movie executive being pitched the idea for the film.
The Movie Channel has a lot to offer for those who love movies. Both the Multiplex channels feature many different genres of film and air both recent and classic films. The only downfall to subscribing to The Movie Channel as opposed to other channels like HBO, Cinemax and Encore, is that the films take a little bit longer to air on TMC after their theatrical run or release to DVD.
.
