NATPE 2009: Studio 3’s New Net Will Be epix
Premium channel to launch Q4 2009
By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/27/2009 4:22:30 PM
NATPE '09: Complete Coverage from B&C
Studio 3 Networks, a joint venture between Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate, on Tuesday said it will name its new premium network “epix.”
“With epix, we are creating an entirely new category of entertainment service for consumers that is unlike anything that currently exists,” said Mark Greenberg, President of Studio 3 Networks, in a statement. “Epix is the first brand to hold exclusive exhibition rights to movie content that can be delivered anywhere, anytime. The name epix embodies the depth and breadth of entertainment content this brand will deliver and also captures the uniquely personal way that consumers will be interacting with great Hollywood movie content and original programming.”
Expected to launch in the fourth quarter of this year, epix will make movies and entertainment accessible on multiple platforms. The network will combine new and classic feature films and original television series from studios including Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate. The network was first announced last spring as a competitor to HBO and Showtime. Greenberg is a former executive vice president of Showtime.
Epix will have exclusive access to Paramount, Paramount Vantage, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies released theatrically on or after January 1, 2008 and MGM, United Artists and Lionsgate titles released theatrically on or after January 1, 2009. It will also have access to more than 15,000 motion picture titles spanning the studios’ vast libraries and will feature new original television series and live event programming. The network will be multi-platform, on-demand and interactive. Viacom will provide operational support, including marketing and affiliate services through its MTV Networks division.
Films available at launch will include the Oscar-nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Duchess and Iron Man, as well as Cloverfield, Defiance, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, New in Town, The Spiderwick Chronicles and Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail. Epix also will have the rights to all 17 re-mastered James Bond movies as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
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