Flix (TV network)

Flix is an American premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by Showtime Networks, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS operated through its Domestic Media Networks unit. Its programming consists solely of theatrically released motion pictures released from the 1970s to the present day, interspersed with some films from the 1950s and 1960s.

Flix
LaunchedAugust 1, 1992 (1992-08-01); 28 years ago
Owned byShowtime Networks
(ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks)
Picture format480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
SloganCool Classics.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Spanish (via SAP audio track; some films may be broadcast in their native language and subtitled into English)
Broadcast areaNationwide
HeadquartersNew York City, New York
Sister channel(s)
Timeshift serviceFlix East,
Flix West
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV556 (SD)
1556 (VOD)
Dish Network333 (SD)
Cable
Verizon FiOS390 (east)
391 (west)
Available on most other U.S. cable systemsConsult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability
IPTV
AT&T U-verse890 (SD)

It is the only premium television service in the United States that does not operate any multiplex channels that provide additional programming alongside the main service. Although Flix is typically offered as part of the Showtime multiplex, the channel's carriage varies depending on both the cable provider and market, therefore it may not be available alongside Showtime and The Movie Channel's multiplex services in all areas. Although one or both of the channels have traditionally been carried alongside the Showtime multiplex on cable and satellite providers, as of 2018, Flix as well as The Movie Channel are not presently carried by any of the over-the-top subscription television services – Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Now – that carry most or all of the eight Showtime multiplex channels.

History

The network launched on August 1, 1992, as a single-channel "mini-pay" service. Flix originally featured movies from the 1960s to the 1980s, although it would gradually begin to scatter some 1990s film titles onto the network's schedule over time. At its launch, Flix had been one of the last premium channels to restrict the broadcast of R-rated films to the nighttime hours. A notable aspect of Flix during its early days was that the channel did not solely advertise the channel's own prime time lineup, but also ran a schedule of programs that were slated to air that evening on the other major U.S. premium channels – including HBO, Cinemax and Encore as well as sister networks Showtime and The Movie Channel – during breaks between daytime movies (since 2002, Showtime has been the only other premium service that the network has provided prime time listings during its prime time lineup segment).[1]

Three years prior to the channel's launch, in 1989, Tele-Communications Inc. made a failed bid to acquire a 50% ownership stake in Showtime from Viacom.[2] There was some debate as to whether Viacom or TCI originally conceived the idea for Encore, another (one-time) "mini-pay" service that was originally similar in format to Flix, which also focused on films from the 1960s to the 1980s until a format change in 1999 in which that channel added more recent films to its schedule. Viacom executives insisted that TCI lifted part of the idea for Encore from the company's Showtime Networks division. John Sie, the president of Encore at the time, said in a 1991 interview with Multichannel News that TCI brought up the concept of the Encore network as a way to revitalize Showtime, either by launching a new tertiary service from scratch or by overhauling the format of Showtime's existing sister network The Movie Channel.[2]

On June 14, 2005, Viacom decided to separate itself into two companies (only six years after the company's acquisition of CBS), both of which would be controlled by Viacom parent National Amusements, amid stagnation of the company's stock price. The original Viacom was restructured as CBS Corporation and acquired Showtime Networks along with CBS' broadcasting assets, Paramount Television (now the separate arms CBS Television Studios for network and cable production, and CBS Television Distribution for production of first-run syndicated programs and off-network series distribution), advertising firm Viacom Outdoor (renamed CBS Outdoor), Simon & Schuster and Paramount Parks (which was later sold); the new Viacom kept Paramount Pictures, the MTV Networks and BET Networks cable divisions, and Famous Music (the latter was sold off in 2007).[3][4]

In 2007, Flix began to broadcast certain R-rated movies during daytime timeslots. That same year, Flix began to air movies released in 2000, including such titles as Reindeer Games and Pitch Black; other films released during the 2000s have been added to the network's schedule since then.

On December 4, 2019, nearly 14 years after the companies split, Viacom and CBS Corporation remerged; Showtime Networks (including Flix) became part of ViacomCBS while reuniting the brand with the aforementioned Viacom brands.

Flix On Demand
Flix On Demand.

Flix On Demand is the channel's subscription video-on-demand service; it is available to subscribers who receive the channel along with the other Showtime multiplex channels, though a few cable systems carry it as a free service that does not require a subscription as an inducement for customers to subscribe to the full Showtime suite of channels. Launched in 2005,[5] Flix On Demand offers classic movies released between the 1950s and the 1990s, which are divided by category based on the decade of their release: 1950s and 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.[6]

Programming

Movie library

As of September 2018, Flix – through Showtime – maintains exclusive first-run film licensing agreements with network sister company CBS Films (since 2007),[7] Amblin Partners,[8] IFC Films,[9] Global Road Entertainment,[10][11] and STX Entertainment.[12]

Flix also shows sub-runs – runs of films that have already received broadcast or syndicated television airings – of theatrical films from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (including content from subsidiaries Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, and Hollywood Pictures), Sony Pictures, Miramax (including content from Revolution Studios and Morgan Creek Productions), Universal Studios (including content from subsidiary Focus Features), Samuel Goldwyn Films, Bleecker Street (after Amazon Prime's pay TV window for its individual releases concludes), Summit Entertainment (for films released prior to 2013), The Weinstein Company (for films released between 2009 and 2016, including those by Dimension Films),[13][14] Anchor Bay Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (including content from subsidiaries United Artists and Orion Pictures), Paramount Pictures, and Lionsgate (sub-run rights with the latter three studios are for films released prior to 2009). Although it does not hold the pay television rights to telecast recent films from 20th Century Fox – which are held by HBO, as of 2018 – Flix does run independent films to which that studio owns the home video rights, regardless as to whether they were released theatrically. Usually films that Showtime holds the pay-cable rights to broadcast will also run on Flix and sister service The Movie Channel during the period of its term of license agreement.

Many lesser-known film titles (particularly those released as independent films) that have either not received a theatrical release or were released on DVD or home video are also commonly broadcast on Flix. The window between a film's initial release in theaters and its initial screening on Showtime, The Movie Channel and Flix is wider than the grace period leading to a film's initial broadcast on HBO, Cinemax or Starz. Films that Showtime has pay cable rights to will usually also run on Flix and The Movie Channel during the period of its term of licensing.

Branding

Network slogans
  • 1992–2007: "Movies You Grew Up With"
  • 2007–2013: "Cool Classics for the Movie Generation"
  • 2013–present: "Cool Classics."
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References
  1. Bob Granger (April 6, 1992). "Showtime's Flix accents multipay subscribers; Showtime Networks Inc.'s mini-pay movie service". Multichannel News. Fairchild Publications. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012 – via HighBeam Research.
  2. John M. Higgins (March 11, 1991). "Viacom: Encore was partly our idea". Multichannel News. Fairchild Publications. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012 – via HighBeam Research.
  3. Geraldine Fabrikant (June 15, 2005). "Viacom Board Agrees to Split of Company". The New York Times. The New York Times Company.
  4. Paul R. La Monica (December 19, 2005). "SpongeBob or Survivor?". CNN Money.
  5. "Showtime Networks to Launch Flix on Demand in Second Quarter 2005" (Press release). Showtime Networks. March 29, 2005 – via The Futon Critic.
  6. Matt Stump (April 4, 2005). "Flix moves into SVOD territory". Multichannel News. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012 – via HighBeam Research.
  7. Claudia Eller (September 26, 2007). "CBS names head of movie division". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  8. Michael O'Connell (July 11, 2016). "Showtime Inks New Deal With Amblin Partners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  9. Nellie Andreeva (March 27, 2012). "Showtime Names Co-Heads Of Acquisitions". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  10. Sophie Schillaci (October 1, 2013). "Open Road Films Headed to Showtime in Multiyear Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Guggenheim Digital Media. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  11. Patrick Hipes (October 1, 2013). "Open Road Inks Deal To Bring Pics To Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  12. Patrick Hipes (January 20, 2015). "Newbie STX & Showtime Ink Premium Window Deal As More Of Studio's Slate Is Revealed". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  13. "Showtime and Weinstein Co. Sign 7-Year Deal". ComingSoon. July 14, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  14. Julie Bloom (July 16, 2008). "Deal for Showtime and Weinstein Company". The New York Times.
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