Festival (TV channel)

Last updated
Festival
Hbosfestival.png
Country United States
Broadcast areaNationwide
(in select markets)
Headquarters New York City, New York
Programming
Language(s) English
Ownership
Owner Home Box Office, Inc.
(Time Inc.)
Sister channels HBO
Cinemax
History
LaunchedApril 1, 1986;38 years ago (1986-04-01)
ClosedDecember 31, 1988;35 years ago (1988-12-31)

Festival was an American premium cable television network that was owned by Home Box Office, Inc., then a subsidiary of Time Inc., and operated from 1986 to 1988. The channel's programming consisted of uncut and re-edited versions of recent older theatrically released motion pictures, along original music, comedy and nature specials sourced from the parent HBO channel aimed at a family audience.

Contents

History

Cover of the January 1988 issue of Festival's monthly program guide. FestivalChannelguide0188.jpg
Cover of the January 1988 issue of Festival's monthly program guide.

On April 1, 1986, HBO began test-marketing a tertiary premium service, Festival, to an estimated 850 subscribers over six cable systems owned by then-sister company American Television and Communications Corporation (eventually expanding to 25 systems by the Summer of 1986). [1] [2] [3] [4] The channel—which transmitted for 19 hours each day from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time daily—was targeted at older audiences who found programming containing violence and sexual situations on other premium services objectionable, television viewers without cable service, and basic cable subscribers that opted against retaining a subscription to a premium service. [3] [5] Its slogan, Quality Entertainment You Welcome Home, reflected the target audience it was trying to attract. [6]

Primarily to cater to the former demographic, Festival focused around family-friendly fare that included classic and recent hit movies (including collections of feature films starring a featured actor, known as "Star Salutes"), and documentaries, along with HBO original stand-up comedy, concert, nature and ice skating specials (which Festival branded under the "Centerstage" banner). Atypical for a premium service, Festival aired "airline-style" versions of R-rated movies re-edited to fit a PG rating on the channel's schedule. [6] [7]

As Festival was designed as a mini-pay premium service (similar to Take 2—HBO's first attempt at a complimentary pay service from 1979 to 1981—before it), subscription pricing for the channel was set lower than that of HBO and Cinemax (between $2.99 and $6.99 per month—equivalent to between $7.05 and $16.48 in 2023, adjusted for inflation [8] —depending on the cable system). Festival also provided subscribers with a 20-page, color monthly program guide. Like HBO, Festival also ran occasional free preview periods, such as the October 30 to November 2, 1987, preview hosted by Tony Randall.

On July 14, 1988, Home Box Office, Inc. announced it would shut down Festival at the end of the year, citing headend channel capacity limitations that prevented Festival from expanding beyond the 102 systems that already carried the service. The channel had reoriented its marketing initiatives to aggressively target cable subscribers who subscribed to another pay service. At its peak, Festival had an estimated 30,000 subscribers by the Summer of 1988, putting it at a distant last place in total subscriber reach among the eight American premium cable services operating at the time. (By comparison, during the same timeframe, HBO had reached 15.9 million subscribers and fellow sister channel Cinemax reached 5.1 million, while Festival's most direct competitor, The Disney Channel—then also a family-oriented premium service until it shifted to basic cable in April 1997—had 3.18 million subscribers.) Festival ceased operations on December 31, 1988. [9] [1] [10] [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TNT (American TV network)</span> American pay television channel

TNT is an American basic cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery that launched on October 3, 1988. TNT's original purpose was to air classic films and television series to which Turner Broadcasting maintained spillover rights through its sister station TBS. Since June 2001, the network has shifted its focus to dramatic television series and feature films, along with some sporting events, as TBS shifted its focus to comedic programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinemax</span> American movie-focused pay television network

Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent network Home Box Office (HBO) and initially focusing on recent and classic films upon its launch on August 1, 1980. Programming featured on Cinemax currently consists primarily of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures, and original action series, as well as documentaries and special behind-the-scenes featurettes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Movie Channel</span> American movie-oriented pay television network

The Movie Channel (TMC) is an American premium television network owned by Showtime Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global operated through its Paramount Media Networks division. The network's programming mainly features first-run theatrically released and independently produced motion pictures, and during promotional breaks between films, special behind-the-scenes features and movie trivia.

Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television. In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era. Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.

HBO is an American pay television network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. In correspondence, it may refer to:

Crave is a Canadian premium television network and streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc.

Superstation is a term in North American broadcasting that has several meanings. Commonly, a "superstation" is a form of distant signal, a broadcast television signal—usually a commercially licensed station—that is retransmitted via communications satellite or microwave relay to multichannel television providers over a broad area beyond its primary terrestrial signal range.

Starz Encore is an American premium television channel owned by Starz Inc. a subsidiary of Lionsgate and headquartered at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado, United States. Launched as Encore on 1 April 1991, its programming features mainly older and recent theatrically released feature films, although some of its multiplex channels also carry acquired television series. It is the sister channel of Starz and MoviePlex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super TV (American TV channel)</span> American subscription television service

Super TV was an American subscription television service operating in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metropolitan areas. that was owned by Subscription Television of Greater Washington, Inc. It was an early form of subscription television that was offered to prospective subscribers as either a standalone service to those that did not have access to cable television-originated premium services, or as an additional viewing alternative thereto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Showtime Networks</span> American entertainment company

Showtime Networks, Inc. is a subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global under its networks division that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship namesake service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HBO</span> American pay television network

Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based at Warner Bros. Discovery's corporate headquarters inside 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan. Programming featured on the network consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original television programs as well as made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional comedy, and concert specials, and periodic interstitial programs.

Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. Most cable viewers in the U.S. reside in the suburbs and tend to be middle class; cable television is less common in low income, urban, and rural areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotlight (TV channel)</span> American premium movie channel

Spotlight was an American premium cable television network that was founded by the Times Mirror Satellite Programming Company unit of the Times Mirror Company, and owned as a joint venture with Storer Communications, Cox Cable and Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI). The channel's programming focused mainly on theatrically released motion pictures, with the only scheduling deviation being of monthly specials previewing films set to air on the channel.

A free preview is a stunt programming concept in which a pay television service or channel tier is exhibited without signal encryption to customers of a multichannel television provider at no cost for an extended time period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home Box Office, Inc.</span> American mass media company owned by Warner Bros. Discovery

Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) is an American multinational media and entertainment company operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The United States pay television content advisory system is a television content rating system developed cooperatively by the American pay television industry; it first went into effect on March 1, 1994, on cable-originated premium channels owned by the system's principal developers, Home Box Office, Inc. and Showtime Networks. The voluntary-participation system—developed to address public concerns about explicit sexual content, graphic violence and strong profanity that tend to be featured in pay-cable and pay-per-view programming—provides guidance to subscribers on the suitability of a program for certain audiences based on its content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home Theater Network</span> Former American cable TV network

Home Theater Network (HTN) was an American premium cable television network that was owned by Group W Satellite Communications. Targeted at a family audience, the channel focused primarily on theatrically released motion pictures, along with travel interstitials that aired between select films.

HBO Now was an American subscription video on demand streaming service for premium television network HBO owned by WarnerMedia subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Officially unveiled on March 9 and launched on April 7, 2015, the service allowed subscribers on-demand access to HBO's library of original programs, films and other content on personal computers, smartphones, tablet devices and digital media players. Unlike HBO Go, HBO's online video on demand service for existing subscribers of the linear television channel, HBO Now was available as a standalone service and did not require a television subscription to use, targeting cord cutters who use competing services such as Netflix and Hulu. In February 2018, HBO Now had 5 million subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of HBO</span> History of the U.S. pay television network

HBO is an American premium television network that is the flagship property of Home Box Office, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts theatrically released motion pictures and original television programs as well as made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional stand-up comedy and concert specials, and periodic interstitial programs. HBO does not accept traditional advertising, although programming promotions are typically aired between shows; it also presents content without editing for profanity, violence, sexual depictions, nudity, drug use or other subjectively objectionable material, which—besides being able to depict mature subject matter usually not allowed to air on advertiser-supported television networks—has allowed the network to give program creators full creative autonomy over their projects.

References

  1. 1 2 Festival program guide, Home Box Office, Inc., 1987
  2. "Burgeoning world of cable programing" (PDF). Broadcasting . Broadcasting Publications Inc. June 16, 1986. p. 10. Retrieved May 17, 2020 via American Radio History.
    "Burgeoning world of cable programing" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. June 16, 1986. p. 11. Retrieved May 17, 2020 via American Radio History.
  3. 1 2 "Cablecastings: Festival expansion" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. April 7, 1986. p. 10. Retrieved May 17, 2020 via American Radio History.
  4. Michael Schneider (December 2, 2020). "13 TV Networks That Pulled a Quibi and Died a Quick Death". Variety . Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  5. David Crook (February 15, 1986). "HBO Plans To Test New Pay Channel". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Festival program guide, Home Box Office, Inc., January 1988, p. Front cover
  7. Thomas Morgan (February 17, 1986). "HBO Launching Service To Attract Older Audience". Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel . Times Mirror Company. Archived from the original on 2013-05-27. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  8. As calculated by the US Bureau of Statistics' CPI Inflation Calculator
  9. Bill Mesce (November 6, 2013). "It's Not TV: HBO, The Company That Changed Television: Expanding The Brand (Part 1)". Sound on Sight. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  10. "HBO changes marketing plan for Festival" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. June 20, 1988. p. 53. Retrieved May 16, 2020 via American Radio History.
  11. "The Cable Network Programing Universe" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. May 30, 1988. p. 41. Retrieved May 17, 2020 via American Radio History.
  12. "HBO's Festival to go dark" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. July 18, 1988. p. 61. Retrieved May 17, 2020 via American Radio History.