Epix (TV network)
Encyclopedia
Epix is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
premium television channel that is operated by Studio 3 Partners—a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
among Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
(specifically its subdivision Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
), MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, and Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
. Viacom handles operational support, including marketing and affiliate services for the service through its MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
division.
Epix offers a companion video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
service. In order to access online on-demand program content, subscribers must have a digital box.
Origins
The announcement of the formation of Epix came on April 21, 2008 after negotiations between Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, MGM and Lionsgate Entertainment with Showtime (owned by CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
) on new film output deals fell through, with the sticking points that led to contract talks breaking down linked to the failure between the studios and Showtime on agreeing to compensation for providing the channel with movies from those studios.
The three studios were some of Showtime's major film suppliers, and Paramount had an output deal with Showtime since 1997, after then-parent Viacom (which also owned Showtime until 2006, when CBS and Viacom split up its assets) purchased Paramount Pictures in 1994. Paramount Pictures' contract with Showtime expired in January 2008, while MGM and Lionsgate's contracts expired at the end of 2008. Though Epix was first announced by Paramount/Viacom, Lionsgate and MGM as strictly a premium service, it eventually began to seek distribution as a hybrid premium/digital basic channel with programming broadcast uncut and commercial-free in the same manner as a traditional premium service. The channel also reportedly sought a monthly license fee of $1 to $1.50 per subscriber.
On August 28, 2009, Epix launched a free preview
Free preview
Free preview, sometimes referred to by the portmanteau nickname "freeview", is a term, most commonly used by cable television, referring to when cable systems offer a pay-TV service to customers for free for a short period of time.-History:...
to Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
subscribers, showing selected films that the channel will offer upon its initial premiere. This included the premium cable debuts of Iron Man
Iron Man (film)
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron...
, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Cloverfield
Cloverfield
Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
. During this preview, Epix added between five to seven movie selections every three days from the libraries of its three major studio backers. On September 25, 2009, the channel announced plans for an expanded online video-on-demand service, which would be called Epix MegaPlex, that was expected offer at least 3,000 film titles beginning in the summer of 2010, while the basic Epix online VOD service would have about 200 titles upon its official October 2010 launch and with a possible expansion to 500 title by the end of 2009.
The Epix television service officially launched at 8 p.m. ET on October 30, 2009 on Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
systems, with the website's on-demand film content launching to the public the day before (for a month prior to the channel's launch, only potential providers had access to film content). The first program to air on the channel was the film Iron Man
Iron Man (film)
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron...
, followed by the concert special Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour: Live from Buenos Aires
Sticky & Sweet Tour
The Sticky & Sweet Tour was the eighth worldwide concert tour by American singer Madonna to promote her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy. It began in August 2008 and was Madonna's first tour from her new recording and business deal with Live Nation. The tour was announced in February 2008, with...
.
Epix also provided those who were Verizon FiOS subscribers and also to non-Verizon FiOS subscribers, special free preview
Free preview
Free preview, sometimes referred to by the portmanteau nickname "freeview", is a term, most commonly used by cable television, referring to when cable systems offer a pay-TV service to customers for free for a short period of time.-History:...
weekends of the online service using online invite codes given on a first come, first served basis to be able to access the website's film content through the end of November 2009.
Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
and Epix announced on August 10, 2010 that Netflix subscribers would be able to view streaming movie titles from Epix. Titles became available on September 1, 2010, with some newer titles having a 90-day delay after the premiere on Epix.
Epix HD
Epix HD is a 1080i1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
high definition simulcast of the East Coast feed of the Epix channel. It was launched on October 30, 2009 along with the standard-definition version of the channel. It is currently available nationally through Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, and is carried regionally by Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
, Charter Communications
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
, Mediacom
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
, Cox Communications
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
, Suddenlink and EPB
EPB
EPB may refer to:* EPB, formerly the Chattanooga Electric Power Board, an American public utility, telecom, and ISP serving the greater Chattanooga, Tennessee area as well as Northern Georgia...
. The "Epix HD" name is also used by the online on-demand service. Programming content on online services are offered in 720p.
Current
- On July 28, 2009, it was announced that Epix has signed a carriage deal with Verizon FiOSVerizon FiOSVerizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
. Viacom president and CEO Philippe DaumanPhilippe DaumanPhilippe Dauman is the President and CEO of Viacom. He has served at this post since September 2006. Dauman is a longtime associate of the company's chairman Sumner Redstone...
has promised the announcement of more distribution deals "in the near future." The single channel was available to Verizon FiOS subscribers for free for the channel's debut weekend with a monthly subscription to the channel costing $9.99 per month (in comparison, a subscription to multi-channel services such as HBO costs $14.99 a month, while Cinemax, Showtime and Starz each cost $12.99). - On January 9, 2010, it was announced that Cox CommunicationsCox CommunicationsCox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
had reached a carriage deal with Epix. The channel became available on April 1, 2010 on their TV service in both standard and high definition formats, as well as on demand and online. The channel is available its digital "Movie Pak" tier subscribers, and is optionally offered as a stand-alone premium channel. - On January 14, 2010, MediacomMediacomMediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
reached a carriage deal with the channel. It began airing on the provider's systems in April 2010, carried on television, on demand and online. - On April 19, 2010, Dish NetworkDish NetworkDish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
announced that it would immediately begin to carry the channel, along with ShortsHD, as part of its "PlatinumHD" package. However, only the HD version is carried. - On April 29, 2010, Charter CommunicationsCharter CommunicationsCharter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
picked up Epix as a package that offers both the Channel in SD (150 Titles at a time) and HD (75 Titles at a time), all available on Charter Video on DemandVideo on demandVideo on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
, and online streaming for just $10 monthly. - On May 12, 2010, Dish Network became the first broadcaster to launch Epix 2 HD, the sister channel of Epix 1 HD.
- On August 11, 2010, Dish Network began carrying new channel The 3 From Epix, which carries movies from the 1970s to the present.
- On July 29, 2011, Epix launched its service on the RokuRokuRoku , is an American, privately held, consumer electronics company that sells home digital media products. The Company is based in Saratoga, California.- Company profile and products :...
streaming player. It is currently only available to cable and satellite subscribers of Epix as well as individuals using the 14 day free trial.
Providers not carrying Epix
DirecTVDirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
, Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, and Cablevision have announced that they will not carry the channel. DirecTV said of premium channels (particularly Epix): "We think there are enough of them out there already, we don't see the value of adding another movie channel."
Uncertain status
There is no word yet on whether major cable providers Time Warner CableTime Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
, Cable One
Cable One
Cable ONE is a United States cable service provider and subsidiary of The Washington Post Company, functioning as its own self-contained corporation within its parent company. The company's name and current focus dates back to 1997; prior to that time the company was known as Post-Newsweek Cable...
, AT&T U-Verse, US Cable
US Cable
The US Cable Group is a cable television provider that serves about 100,000 subscribers in ten states. It is among the top 35 cable providers in the nation and has cable systems in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.- History :US Cable...
or other cable providers will carry the service.
Movie library
Epix currently has exclusive deals with major and smaller independent movie studios. Films featured on the channel include recent releases from Viacom-owned Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
(and their subsidiaries Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage is the specialty film division of Paramount Pictures , charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, generally those with a more "art house" feel than films made and distributed by its parent company.Paramount Classics was launched in 1998 and...
, MTV Films
MTV Films
MTV Films is the motion picture production arm of cable channel MTV. Founded in 1996, it has produced films based on MTV programs such as Beavis and Butt-head Do America and Jackass: The Movie, as well as other adaptations and original projects. Its films are released by fellow Viacom division...
and Nickelodeon Movies
Nickelodeon Movies
Nickelodeon Movies is the motion picture production arm of children's cable channel Nickelodeon, originally launched in 1995. Its first film was Harriet the Spy. It has produced films based on Nickelodeon programs, as well as other adaptations and original projects...
), as well as titles from MGM (and its subsidiary United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
) and Lionsgate (along with subsidiary Mandate Pictures
Mandate Pictures
Mandate Pictures was originally an independent film entertainment studio, founded in 2003. Today, Mandate Pictures is a full-service production and financing company, acquired by Lionsgate in 2007. Mandate continues to operate as an independent brand delivering commercial and independent films...
). Prior to its launch, Epix also signed an exclusive first-run agreement with Samuel Goldwyn Films
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Samuel Goldwyn Films is an independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn...
. The channel also signed an exclusive deal to carry 22 feature films from independent film studio Roadside Attractions
Roadside Attractions
Roadside Attractions is a US film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 2003, specializing largely in independent films.Lionsgate bought a partial stake in Roadside in 2007.-List of films released by Roadside Attractions:...
, owned in part by Lionsgate.
The window between a film's initial release in theatres and its initial screening on Epix is stated to be slightly smaller than on HBO, Showtime and Starz, and will have a longer time of license than the other pay TV channels. Epix's movie schedule is similar to that of the main Encore channel, in that recent film releases are mixed in with older films from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and recently released films are often followed and/or preceded by older pre-1999 films in daytime and prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
slots.
Original programming
Epix has greenlit its first original series pilot, Tough Trade, a drama from Lionsgate Television to be executive produced by WeedsWeeds (TV series)
Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
creator Jenji Kohan
Jenji Kohan
Jenji Leslie Kohan is an American television writer, producer and director.-Early life:Kohan was born in Los Angeles, California and is Jewish...
. The series is described as a look at three generations of a dysfunctional famous family in country music, and was created by Chris Offutt
Chris Offutt
Christopher John "Chris" Offutt is an American writer.The son of author Andrew J. Offutt, Chris Offutt grew up in a small former mining community in the Appalachian foothills of eastern Kentucky. He quit high school to join the army, but failed the physical...
, novelist and scribe on Lionsgate-produced Weeds. The pilot began filming in Nashville, TN in late summer 2009 for a possible series launch in 2010. The series was developed by Furst Films through a first-look deal with Lionsgate. Brothers Sean Furst and Bryan Furst will executive produce the pilot along with Kohan and Offutt.
Epix might also air a mini-series adaptation of Ayn Rand's
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
novel Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. Rand's fourth and last novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing...
. Actress Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model.She rose to fame in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil's Advocate and The Cider House Rules...
has been involved in preliminary talks with Lionsgate and producers Howard and Karen Baldwin to develop and star in the mini-series.
On the November 30, 2009 edition of The Opie & Anthony Show, Lewis Black said he and Eddie Izzard will have the first two stand-up specials on the channel. Black's comedy special Stark Raving Black premiered on the channel on December 5, 2009.
On May 3, 2010 Deadline.com reported the following pilots are in development for Epix:
- The Supremes - A one-hour drama about a Supreme Court clerk.
- Untitled Project - A one-hour drama about a young guy who goes to work for Penthouse Magazine.
- Random Acts - A half-hour action comedy about two female assassins working for an eccentric crime boss while looking for love.
- Human Resources - A half-hour comedy thriller about a group of new hires at software company who discover that they may not be management trainees after all.
- Gonzo - A one-hour drama about war journalists in the 1980s searching for a missing comrade in a Central American country rattled by corruption, greed, and political intrigue.
- Margin Of Error - A one-hour dramedy about a workaholic campaign strategist who launches a new political campaign every season.
- Pulp Bromance - A one-hour action/dramedy based on a book series about a buddy relationship between two assassins in the most dangerous city in the world.
Sports programming
On March 19, 2011, Epix became the third premium cable channel (after HBO and Showtime) to offer boxing events on its schedule. The network aired a heavyweight title fight between Vitali KlitschkoVitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
and Odlanier Solis
Odlanier Solis
Odlanier Solís Fonte is a Cuban professional boxer. He won the Olympic Gold medal in Athens 2004 and was a three time winner at the World Amateur Boxing Championships.-Amateur career:...
held in Cologne, Germany. In addition to airing on the linear Epix channel, the fight was also streamed live on its website. The fight was the first heavyweight title boxing event to air on American television since Klitschko’s September 2009 match against Chris Arreola
Chris Arreola
Cristobal Arreola is a Mexican-American professional Heavyweight boxer. Arreola is the former NABF, WBC Continental Americas, and current WBC FECOMBOX Heavyweight Champion. Chris is promoted by Goossen Tutor and trained by Henry Ramírez....
(which aired one month prior to Epix's debut), and the first televised heavyweight championship bout since Klitschko’s December 2009 match against Kevin Johnson
Kevin Johnson (boxer)
Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson is an American heavyweight boxer.-Amateur career:Johnson started boxing at the age of 18...
. Epix is also the only HD broadcaster of Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. "Bellator", which is Latin for "Warrior", is organized into seasons with each event hosting the rounds of championship knockout tournaments for three-five weight divisions.-History:In its first season,...
, a mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
(MMA) tournament. Bellator's other broadcaster, MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
, currently has no HD channel.