Cinemax

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Cinemax.gif Cinemax is a cable television network that provides movies, special features, erotica programming for adults, and other services to consumers via subscriptions. Cinemax is owned by the Home Box Office Group (which is a subsidiary of Time Warner Incorporated), and broadcasts from San Francisco, California.

1 History
2 Channels
3 Cinemax HD
4 External links

[edit]

History

Cinemax launched in August 1980, introduced by its then on-air personality Robert Kulp. Kulp told viewers that Cinemax would be about movies and nothing but movies. At the time, HBO featured a wider range of programming, including documentaries, children's entertainment, sporting events, and entertainment specials. Cinemax would rely entirely on movies, and during its earliest days it had a slight resemblance to American Movie Classics (AMC). Movie classics were a mainstay of the channel at its birth, "all uncut and commercial-free" as Kulp would say. A heavy schedule of films from the 50s-70s made up most of Cinemax's program schedule.

Cinemax succeeded in its early years because subscribers typically had access to only about three dozen channels. Movies were the most sought-after program category by cable subscribers, and the fact Cinemax would show classics without commercials and editing made the channel an attractive add-on for HBO subscribers. In many cases, cable operators would not sell Cinemax to non-HBO subscribers. The two channels were typically sold as a package, usually at a discount for subscribers choosing both. A typical price for HBO in the early 1980s was $12.95 per month. Cinemax typically could be added for between $7-10 extra per month.

As additional movie-oriented channels launched on cable, Cinemax's programming philosophy began to change to try and maintain its subscriber base. First the channel opted to carry more violent fare that HBO would only show at night. Then Cinemax decided it could compete with more adult-oriented movies. Today, a large number of Cinemax movies shown at night are softcore adult films produced especially for adult cable or hotel entertainment channels. The sheer number of these films has earned the network several nicknames, including "Skin-a-max," "Sinamax," and "Climax."

[edit]