Flix (TV Channel) - Background

Background

The channel launched in August 1, 1992 as a single-channel "mini-pay" service. Flix originally featured movies from the 1960s to the 1980s, with some 1990s film titles scattered on the network's schedule, however the channel has since begun to feature some film titles from the 2000s as well. The channel's tagline is "Movies You Grew Up With". A notable aspect of Flix during its early days was that the channel did not advertise the primetime lineup of solely itself, but also ran during breaks between daytime movies, a primetime schedule of programs that were slated to air that night on all major premium channels including HBO, Cinemax and Encore.

Before its launch, Tele-Communications, Inc. made a failed attempt to acquire a 50 percent stake in Showtime in 1989. there was some debate as to whether Viacom or TCI originally conceived the idea for Encore, a service similar to Flix, that also focused on films from the 1960s to the 1980s until a format change in 1999 in which recent films were added to the mix. Viacom executives insisted TCI lifted part of the plan from Showtime Networks, Inc. Then-Encore president John Sie said in an 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 service from scratch or overhauling the format of Showtime sister network The Movie Channel.

Starting in 2007, Flix began to show some R-rated movies during the day. Also in 2007, Flix began showing movies from the year 2000; those titles include Reindeer Games and Pitch Black. Unlike most other premium movie channels, Flix does not offer multiplex services other than the main network.