Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atlanta, Georgia.
This article is about the American TV channel. For other channels, see List of international Turner Classic Movies channels.Country
United States
Nationwide
English
(imported feature films are broadcast in their native languages, provided with English subtitling)
1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 480i letterboxed for the SDTV feed)
April 14, 1994
Watch TCM (U.S. pay-TV subscribers only)
The channel's programming consists mainly of classic theatrically released feature films from the Turner Entertainment Co. film library – which comprises films from Warner Bros. (covering films released before 1950), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (covering films released before May 1986), and the North American distribution rights to films from RKO Radio Pictures. However, Turner Classic Movies also licenses films from other studios and occasionally shows more recent films.
The channel is available in the United States, Canada, Malta (as Turner Classic Movies), Latin America, France, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, the Middle East & Africa (as TNT)
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
In 1986, eight years before the launch of Turner Classic Movies, Ted Turner acquired the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film studio for $1.5 billion. Concerns over Turner Entertainment's corporate debt load resulted in Turner selling the studio that October back to Kirk Kerkorian, from whom Turner had purchased the studio less than a year before.[1]
As part of the deal, Turner Entertainment Co. retained ownership of MGM's library of films released up to May 9, 1986. Turner Broadcasting System was split into two companies, Turner Broadcasting System and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and reincorporated as MGM/UA Communications Co.
The film library of Turner Entertainment Co. would serve as the base form of programming for Turner Classic Movies upon the network's launch. Before the creation of Turner Classic Movies, films from Turner's library of movies aired on the Turner Broadcasting System's advertiser-supported cable network TNT along with colorized versions of black-and-white classics such as The Maltese Falcon.
Streaming[edit]
Turner Classic Movies is associated with parent company Warner Bros. Discovery's Max streaming service. TCM has its own category on the service with select classic content.
Merchandising and events[edit]
TCM Vault Collection[edit]
The TCM Vault Collection consists of several different DVD collections of rare classic films that have been licensed, remastered and released by Turner Classic Movies (through corporate sister Warner Bros. Home Entertainment). These boxed set releases are of films by notable actors, directors or studios that were previously unreleased on DVD or VHS. The sets often include bonus discs including documentaries and shorts from the Turner Classic Movies library. The initial batch of DVDs are printed in limited quantities and subsequent batches are made-on-demand (MOD).