Cinemax

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.

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Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States and most watched awards ceremony in the world. The Awards are granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a professional honorary organization, which as of 2003 had a voting membership of 5,816. Actors (with a membership of 1,311) make up the largest voting bloc. The votes have been tabulated and certified by the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for 72 years, close to the awards' inception. [1] They are intended for the films and persons the Academy believes have the top achievements of the year. [2] The 78th Academy Awards were the most recent ceremony and the next ceremony, the 79th Academy Awards, will take place on February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The annual Oscar presentation has been held since 1929.

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Showtime

Showtime is a subscription television brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world, but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United States.The U.S. Showtime primarily shows motion pictures as well as some original programming and occasional boxing matches. Showtime, originally a service of Viacom, went on the air on July 1, 1976, on a local cable system in Dublin, California. On March 7, 1978, it expanded to the national market via satellite, competing with HBO. In 1979, Viacom sold 50% of Showtime to TelePrompTer. In 1982, Westinghouse, who had acquired TelePrompTer the previous year, sold its share of Showtime back to Viacom. In 1983, Viacom and Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment merged Showtime and The Movie Channel to form Showtime Networks, Inc.. In 1985, Viacom acquired Warner-Amex's cable properties, including their share of Showtime Networks. In the 1990s, Showtime ventured into acquiring and premiering independent films directly for the channel, including such well-received fare as Lolita. In the early 2000s, Showtime launched several additional multiplex channels including including Showtime Too (a pun on its previous name, Showtime 2), Showtime Showcase (also known simply as "Showcase"; formerly Showtime 3), Showtime Beyond, Showtime Extreme, Showtime Family Zone (Available on Digital cable only), Showtime Next (Available on Digital cable only), Showtime Women (Available on Digital cable only)

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