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Encyclopedia > HBO Latin America
For other uses, see HBO (disambiguation).
HBO
Type Cable network (movies, sports)
Availability Flag of United States United States, national
Owner Home Box Office, Inc. (Time Warner)
Key people Chris Albrecht - Chairman and CEO
Launch date November 8, 1972
Past names None
Website http://www.hbo.com/

HBO (Home Box Office) is an American premium cable television network. HBO airs theatrically released feature films, original television movies, and various original series. Some of HBO's popular series have included The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Oz, The Wire, Tracey Takes On..., Carnivàle, Entourage, The Larry Sanders Show, Deadwood, Mr. Show, Big Love, Da Ali G Show, Tales from the Crypt, Band of Brothers, Rome and Extras (the last three were in collaboration with the BBC). Shortcut: WP:CU Marking articles for cleanup This page is undergoing a transition to an easier-to-maintain format. ... This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. ... HBO may refer to: Home Box Office, a U.S. premium television network. ... Image File history File links HBO.svg HBO Logo. ... Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house. ... A television network is a distribution network for television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many television stations. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Time Warner Inc. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... This page as shown in the AOL 9. ... Premium television (sometimes pay television in North America) generally refers to a class of commercial-free television services which are available for subscription through cable and satellite television for fees much higher than traditional, packaged cable networks or specialty services. ... Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house. ... Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... A television movie (also known as a TV film, TV movie, TV-movie, feature-length drama, made-for-TV movie, movie of the week (MOTW or MOW), single drama, telemovie, telefilm, or two-hour-long drama) is a film that is produced for and originally distributed by a television network. ... The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a fictional Italian-American Mafia family in Northern New Jersey. ... Sex and the City is a popular American cable television program based on the novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell. ... Six Feet Under was a popular and critically acclaimed American television drama produced by HBO. It first aired on June 3, 2001 and concluded its fifth and final season on August 21, 2005. ... Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American sitcom starring Seinfeld writer, co-creator, and executive producer Larry David. ... Oz was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by HBO. The show, which aired for six seasons (1997-2003), was created by Tom Fontana and produced by Barry Levinson. ... The Wire is an American television drama set and produced in Baltimore, Maryland. ... Tracey Takes On. ... Carnivàle [car-nih-VAL] was an American dramatic television series produced by HBO. Created by Daniel Knauf, it starred Nick Stahl and Clancy Brown. ... Entourage is an original comedy series on HBO. The show chronicles the rise of a hot young movie star named Vincent Chase and his childhood friends from Queens as they navigate the unfamiliar terrain of Hollywood. ... The Larry Sanders Show was a satirical television series that originally aired from 1992 to 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the USA. It starred former stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as the shows vain, self-obsessed, neurotic host, Larry Sanders. ... Deadwood was a weekly American television drama series that premiered in March 2004 on HBO. The series is a Western set in the 1870s in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. ... Mr. ... Big Love is an HBO television drama about a polygamous family, starring Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin. ... Da Ali G Show was the name of two related satirical and socratically ironic TV series starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and featuring the character Ali G. The original (single season) series was made by Channel 4 in the UK, and the second (two season) series by HBO in... Tales from the Crypt is a horror anthology TV series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO. It was based on the 1950s EC Comics series of the same name and was produced by The Geffen Film Company in association with Warner Bros. ... Band of Brothers is an acclaimed 10-part television miniseries about World War II, co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. ... Rome is a historical drama, produced in Italy for television by HBO (USA), the BBC (UK) and RAI (Italy). ... Extras is a sitcom about extras working on movie sets and theatre. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. ...

Contents

History

HBO was the first cable network to originate as a non-terrestrial broadcast TV network. In 1965, cable pioneer Charles Francis Dolan won the franchise to build a cable system in lower Manhattan. The new system, named Sterling Manhattan Cable by Mr. Dolan, was the nation's first urban underground cable system. Instead of stringing cable on telephone poles and using microwave antennas to receive the signals, Sterling laid underground cable beneath the streets of Manhattan because television signals were blocked by many tall buildings. Time Life, Inc., in the same year, purchased 20 percent of Dolan's company. The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Microwaves are electromagnetic waves with wavelengths longer than those of terahertz (THz) wavelengths, but relatively short for radio waves. ... Time-Life is a book, music, and video marketer, that since 2003 has been combined with catalog reseller Lillian Vernon as a subsidiary of Direct Holdings Worldwide, and is no longer owned by its former parent Time Warner. ...

HBO logo used from 1975-1981.
HBO logo used from 1975-1981.

In early 1970, looking for new revenue sources, Mr. Dolan came up with the idea of creating a Green channel for which subscribers would pay extra to receive uncut commercial-free movies and sports coverage. To help run his new project, Dolan hired a young attorney named Gerald Levin, who had experience in contracting for televised films and sporting events, as his Vice President of Programming. Image File history File links HBO logo (late 1970s/early 1980s) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links HBO logo (late 1970s/early 1980s) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Gerald M. Levin (b. ...


Dolan presented his "Green Channel" idea to Time Life management, and though satellite distribution was only a distant possibility at the time, he persuaded Time Life to back him, and soon "The Green Channel" became Home Box Office on November 8, 1972. HBO began using microwave to feed its programming. The first program aired over the pay-channel was a New York Rangers / Vancouver Canucks game, to a CATV system in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania (a plaque commemorating this event is found in Wilkes-Barre's downtown Public Square). Also on that night was the first film to be seen on HBO -- Sometimes a Great Notion, starring Paul Newman and Henry Fonda. Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (and often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio waves transmitted directly to people’s televisions through fixed coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in... Wilkes-Barre (pronounced wilkes-berry, wilkes-bear-ah or wilkes-bear, and most often by non-natives as wilkes-bar) is a city located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. ... Sometimes a Great Notion is a 1964 novel by Ken Kesey. ... Paul Leonard Newman (born January 26, 1925) is an Academy Award-winning American actor and film director. ... Henry Fonda in the classic 1957 film 12 Angry Men. ...


Sterling Manhattan Cable was rapidly losing money because the company had a small subscriber base of 20,000 customers in Manhattan. Dolan's media partner, Time Life, Inc., gained 80 percent control of Sterling and decided to pull the plug on the Sterling Manhattan operation. Time Life dropped the Sterling name to become Manhattan Cable Television and gained control of HBO in March, 1973. Gerald Levin replaced Dolan as HBO's President and Chief Executive Officer. In September 1973 Time Life, Inc. completed its acquisition of the pay service. HBO was soon the fastest show in America on 14 systems in New York and Pennsylvania, but the churn rate was exceptionally high. Subscribers would sample the service for a few weeks, get weary of seeing the same films, and then cancel. HBO was struggling and something had to be done. When HBO first came to Lawrence, Massachusetts, the idea was to allow subscribers to preview the service for free on channel 3. After a month, the service moved to channel 6 and was scrambled. The preview proved popular, obtaining many subscriptions and the concept was used elsewhere. (Lawrence receives HBO on channel 301 today.)


On December 13, 1975, HBO became the first TV network to broadcast its signals via satellite when it showed the "Thrilla in Manila" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. On December 28, 1981, HBO expanded its programming schedule to 24 hours a day, seven days per week. (Cinemax was 24/7 from the day it signed on, and Showtime and The Movie Channel went 24 hours earlier.) In January 1986, HBO also became the first satellite network to encrypt its signal from unauthorized viewing by way of the Videocipher II System. Later, HBO was one of the first cable TV networks to broadcast a high-definition version of its channel.-1... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... U.S. military MILSTAR communications satellite A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. ... The Thrilla in Manila was a famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, fought at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City of the Philippines on October 1, 1975. ... Professional boxing bout featuring Ricardo Domínguez (left) versus Rafael Ortíz Boxing, also called pugilism, prizefighting (when referring to professional boxing) or the sweet science (a common nickname among fans), is a sport and martial art in which two participants of similar weight fight each other with their fists... Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. ... For the Major League Baseball player and manager, see Joe Frazier (baseball) Joseph William Smokin Joe Frazier is a former world heavyweight boxing champion, active mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. ... December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 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 Movie Channel (TMC) is a American premium cable television network owned by Showtime Networks, Inc. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The German Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II for encryption of very high-level general staff messages Cryptography (or cryptology; derived from Greek κρυπτός kryptós hidden, and γράφειν gráfein to write) is the study of message secrecy. ... VideoCipher is a brand name of analog scrambling equipment for satellite television invented in the early 1980s by Linkabit systems, which was bought out by MA/COM in 1985. ... Projection screen in a home theater, displaying a high-definition television image. ...


1983 saw the premiere of HBO's first original movie and the first made-for-pay-TV movie, The Terry Fox Story. 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


HBO has been involved in several legal suits during the 1980s involving cable systems and legal stautes imposed by state and city laws that would have censored HBO and other pay-TV networks for programming that was considered "indecent."


In April 1986, HBO became a victim of broadcast signal intrusion when a man calling himself "Captain Midnight" intercepted the network's signal during a movie presentation. The man was later caught and was then prosecuted. April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Broadcast signal intrusion is a term given to the act of hijacking broadcast signals of radio and television stations. ... John R. MacDougall, also known as Captain Midnight, is an electronic engineer and business owner, who jammed HBOs satellite signal in 1986 to broadcast a message protesting their rates for satellite dish owners. ...


In 1991, HBO and Cinemax became the first premium services to offer multiplexed services to cable customers as companions to the main network, offering multiplex services of HBO (HBO2, renamed HBO Plus from 1998 to 2002) and Cinemax (Cinemax 2, now MoreMax) to three cable systems in Wisconsin, Kansas and Texas. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...


The move proved successful resulting in HBO and Cinemax launching additional multiplex channels of its service, HBO 3 (now HBO Signature, launched in 1995), HBO Family (launched in 1996), HBO Comedy & HBO Zone (launched in 1999) and HBO Latino, a Latino-themed channel of HBO (launched in 2000, HBO also had an HBO En Espanol, a Spanish-language service launched in 1988). Cinemax also launched the multiplex services Cinemax 3 (launched in 1996, launching again as ActionMax in 1998), ThrillerMax (launched in 1998) and WMax, @Max, OuterMax and 5StarMax (all launched in 2001). 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This article is about the year 2001. ...


Originally, HBO was part of Time Inc.. When Time merged with Warner Communications in 1989, it became part of Time Warner, who serves as its parent company today. Time Inc. ... Time Warner Inc. ...


HBO has also developed a reputation for offering very high quality original programming. HBO is a subscription-only service and does not carry normal commercials; both of these factors relieve HBO from pressures to tone down controversial aspects in their programs, thus allowing for explicit themes, such as graphic violence, explicit sex, profanity, and drug use. Censorship is the editing, removing, or otherwise changing speech and other forms of human expression. ... Violence is any act of aggression and abuse which causes or intends to cause injury, in some cases criminal, or harm to persons, and (to a lesser extent) animals or property. ... This article is about sex acts and practices (i. ... Look up Profanity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for work, medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ...


The network is currently received in roughly one-third of households in the United States. It can be quite expensive to acquire HBO because subscribers are generally required to pay for an extra "tier" of service even before paying for the channel itself (though all of the HBO channels are often priced together in a single package). Someone upgrading from a standard cable package might see their bill increase more than 40%. However, federal law requires that a cable system allow a person to get just basic cable (local broadcast channels) and HBO. Cable systems can require the use of a converter box (usually digital) to receive HBO.


Even in the days of the V-chip, the primary HBO channel still does not run unedited R rated films or TV-MA rated programming during the daytime. HBO's multiplex channels will do so (excluding HBO Family, which doesn't run R rated films at all and will generally run PG-13 rated films only between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.). V-chip is a generic term used for a feature of television receivers allowing the blocking of programs based on their ratings category. ...


Since TV critics are generally obliged to keep track of HBO, but the general public is not, the network's influence can be overstated. However, several HBO programs have been re-aired on other networks and local syndication (usually after some editing), and a number of them are also available on DVD. Interestingly, since HBO's more successful series, most notably the trio of Sex and the City, The Sopranos, and Six Feet Under, are broadcast on non-cable networks in other countries, such as in the United Kingdom and Australia, HBO programming has the potential to be seen by a higher percentage of the population of those countries as compared to the U.S. Because of the high cost of HBO, many Americans only view HBO programs on DVDs or in basic cable or broadcast syndication, months or even years after the network has first broadcast the programs. The word critic comes from the Greek κριτικός, kritikós - one who discerns, which itself arises from the Ancient Greek word κριτής, krités, meaning a person who offers reasoned judgement or analysis, value judgement, interpretation, or observation. ... Sex and the City is a popular American cable television program based on the novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell. ... The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a fictional Italian-American Mafia family in Northern New Jersey. ... Six Feet Under was a popular and critically acclaimed American television drama produced by HBO. It first aired on June 3, 2001 and concluded its fifth and final season on August 21, 2005. ... DVD (sometimes called Digital Versatile Disc, or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ...


HBO has international operations in Latin America, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania (and Moldova), Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and South Asia(Bangladesh, India and Pakistan). It also had an early investment in New Zealand's SKY Network Television through the channel HBO (now Sky Movies). HBO plans to launch international operations in "key markets" of Europe (France, UK, Spain, Germany and Italy) and Japan. Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Motto: none Anthem: Bože pravde (English: God of Justice) Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Serbian written with the Cyrillic alphabet1 Government Republic  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica  - President Boris Tadić Establishment    - Formation 814   - First Serbian Uprising 1804   - Internationally recognized July 13, 1878   - Kingdom of SCS created December 1, 1918... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ... SKY Network Television Limited (ASX: SKT; NZX: SKT), often trading as SKY, was New Zealands first pay television service and is at present, 2006, New Zealands largest pay television operator. ...


Critical response

Many television critics have given HBO a reputation for producing intelligent or challenging material not available elsewhere on TV. For example, Time Magazine TV critic James Poniewozik writes that "HBO specializes in intelligent, risky series that look at the dark side of American life." Feminist critic Lisa Johnson posits that HBO original programming often promotes feminist messages and challenges traditional notions of male patriarchy. (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ...


Other media ventures

HBO has become somewhat of a media empire, owning the entire HBO and Cinemax family of networks as well as influence in television and film production.


In 1990, HBO launched HBO Independent Productions, a production company that produced mainly sitcoms for broadcast and basic cable television. HBO Downtown Productions was launched a year later producing comedy specials for the network as well as content for Comedy Central (which HBO formerly co-owned).


HBO also operates HBO Films, created in 1998 out of a merger of two separate small-scale film studios, HBO NYC Productions and HBO Pictures. HBO also operated another film division called HBO Showcase, which ceased in 1996 to form HBO NYC Productions. HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. ... HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. ...


HBO also had a couple of joint ventures, first, with the formation of TriStar Pictures with Columbia Pictures and CBS. Columbia later bought the two-thirds interest of the studio. Then, HBO merged its The Comedy Channel with Viacom's HA! cable network to form Comedy Central. HBO also had a joint venture with Liberty Media and many major cable companies in Movietime channel (now E!). In 1997, The Walt Disney Company and Comcast purchased control of E! In 2003, Viacom bought HBO's half of the Comedy Central channel and merged it to its MTV Networks unit. In 2005, HBO and New Line Cinema launched Picturehouse, an independent film distributor. HBO is the primary sponsor of the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Columbia Pictures logo Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... CBS (an abbreviation for Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ... Viacom (NYSE: VIA) (NYSE: VIAb) is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks (MTV Networks and BET), and movie production and distribution (the Paramount Pictures movie studio and DreamWorks). ... Comedy Central is a cable television channel in the United States. ... The Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate. ... E!: Entertainment Television is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite network. ... MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operation of many TV network and Internet brands. ... New Line Cinema logo New Line Cinema, founded in 1967, is one of the major American film studios. ... Picturehouse is a specialty film company formed in 2005 as a joint venture of New Line Cinema and HBO, as such it is a subsidiary of Time Warner. ... US Comedy Arts Festival is a comedy festival held each year in Aspen, Colorado. ...


Slogans

  • 1972-1978: "Different and First"
  • 1978-1982: "Don't Miss HBO"
  • 1982-1983: "Start with Us on HBO"
  • 1983-1985: "There's No Place Like HBO"
  • 1986-1988: "Let's All Get Together"
  • 1988-1989: "Watch Us Here on HBO"
  • 1990-1992: "Simply The Best" Sung by Tina Turner (Still used in HBO Asia)
  • 1992-1993: "We're HBO"
  • 1993-1997: "We're Out of Town Today"
  • 1997-present: "It's Not TV, It's HBO"
  • In a MADtv Parody of Sex and the City titled Sluts in the City, the HBO logo is shown with a voice over from Debra Wilson, saying, "HBO, It's not sitcoms, it's porn!"

Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939) is a Grammy Award-winning American pop/rock singer, Buddhist and occasional actress. ... MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series based on the popular humor magazine, Mad. ... Sex and the City is a popular American cable television program based on the novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell. ... Debra Renee Wilson Skelton (born April 26, 1962) is an American comedian and actress. ...

Channels

HBO operates seven multiplex channels, a high definition channel and a Movies on Demand service (HBO On Demand). In telecommunications, multiplexing (also muxing or MUXing) is the combining of two or more information channels onto a common transmission medium using hardware called a multiplexer or (MUX). ... Generally, high-definition refers to an increase in resolution or clarity such as in: High-definition television (HDTV), television formats that have a higher resolution than their contemporary counterparts High-definition video, which is used in HDTV broadcasting, as well as digital film and computer HD video file formats HDV...

HBO also packages the Eastern and Pacific feeds of the main channel together, allowing viewers a second chance to watch the same movie/program three hours later/earlier depending on their geographic location. Time Zone is also a historical computer game. ... PDT is UTC-7 The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-8). ...


HBO original programming

See List of programs broadcast by HBO. Poster for the original HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. ...


Movies

HBO currently has exclusive deals with Dreamworks (which recently was acquired by Paramount/Viacom), Twentieth Century Fox, and network sister company Warner Bros. (although recently they passed on a package of recent WB films such as The Polar Express and March of the Penguins due to cost, and therefore have bypassed pay-cable altogether and went straight from pay-per-view to broadcast television). In addition, it holds partial pay-cable rights to movies produced by Universal Studios (along Rogue Pictures and Focus Features). DreamWorks SKG is one of the major American film studios which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games, and television programming. ... Related articles FOX Television Network Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Entertainment Group List of Hollywood movie studios List of movies Variant of current 20th Century Fox logo External links 20th Century Fox Movies official site Twentieth Century Fox is also the punning title of a song by The Doors on their... Warner Bros. ... The Polar Express is a 2004 feature film based on the childrens book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. ... March of the Penguins (French: La Marche de lempereur; literally: The Emperors Journey) is an Academy Award-winning documentary film by Luc Jacquet, co-produced by the National Geographic Society and Warner Independent Pictures. ... The current Universal Studios logo Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the major American film studios that has production studios and offices located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los... Focus Features is the art house films division of Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distrubutor for foreign films. ... Focus Features is the art house films division of Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distrubutor for foreign films. ...


As a result of these limited deals, HBO often fills its late-night schedule with recent B-movies (some of which were never released theatrically) produced by lesser-known independent companies. On the other hand, HBO often shows sub-runs (that is, runs of films that have already received broadcast network/syndicated television releases) of theatrical films from Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Lions Gate Films. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... Universal Pictures is the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Lions Gate Films. ...


In 2003, HBO acquired the exclusive pay-cable rights to Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones from Fox and Lucasfilm, Ltd., and during its initial 18-month term of license aired the movie without it first seeing any pay-per-view cable release. HBO also has pay-cable rights to its sequel, Revenge Of The Sith. During negotiations for the pay-cable rights to Clones, a deal to air the entire saga, including the revised DVD version of the original trilogy [IV, V, and VI] was made, and as a result sister network Cinemax became the first U.S. network to air all six films (in turn, HBO will have limited pay-cable access to all these movies until 2008, when Spike TV will assume the broadcast TV rights). Film poster for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) is the fifth Star Wars science fiction movie released and the second part of the prequel trilogy which began with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ... Lucasfilm Ltd. ... Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the third episode of the Star Wars film series (but the sixth film to be produced), to be released on Thursday, May 19, 2005. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Spike TV (sometimes only Spike) is an American cable network designed to cater to a young male demographic and is also shown in Canada. ...


HBO also has exclusive pay-cable rights to its own in-house theatrical films made under HBO Films. In Latin America, HBO Family translates to Spanish, and airs Disney Channel Original Movies, then, they are released and can be shown by Disney Channel HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOM), originally Disney Channel Premiere Films, are television movies produced for The Disney Channel. ... For the Disney Channel in other countries, see Disney Channel around the world. ...


Usually films which HBO has pay-cable rights will also run on Cinemax during its time of license.


Sports

HBO's first broadcast was of a New York Rangers / Vancouver Canucks game, transmitted to a CATV system in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on November 8, 1972. HBO is known for its boxing matchups including those shown on HBO World Championship Boxing. In 1975, the "Thrilla in Manila" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier aired on HBO and was the first program on the pay-cable network to air via satellite. Also in 1975, HBO began airing coverage of Wimbledon and did so until 1999. Coverage has since moved to sister network TNT and later to NBC. During the mid-1970s, HBO aired several NBA and ABA basketball games (notably, the last ABA Final in 1976, between the New York Nets and Denver Nuggets) as well as some NHL hockey games. In 1977, HBO launched Inside the NFL, the channel's longest-running program. HBO launched Boxing After Dark in 1997, showcasing some of boxing's newest talents. HBO currently operates HBO PPV (formerly TVKO) to broadcast boxing matches to pay-per-view subscribers. The New York Rangers (NYR) are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City, New York, U.S.A.. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). ... The Vancouver Canucks are a professional National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ... Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (and often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio waves transmitted directly to people’s televisions through fixed coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in... Wilkes-Barre (pronounced wilkes-berry, wilkes-bear-ah or wilkes-bear, and most often by non-natives as wilkes-bar) is a city located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... HBO World Championship Boxing is a TV series that has shown many of boxings greatest fights and historic events during the last 30 years. ... The Thrilla in Manila was a famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, fought at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City of the Philippines on October 1, 1975. ... Professional boxing bout featuring Ricardo Domínguez (left) versus Rafael Ortíz Boxing, also called pugilism, prizefighting (when referring to professional boxing) or the sweet science (a common nickname among fans), is a sport and martial art in which two participants of similar weight fight each other with their fists... Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. ... For the Major League Baseball player and manager, see Joe Frazier (baseball) Joseph William Smokin Joe Frazier is a former world heavyweight boxing champion, active mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Turner Network Television, usually referred to as TNT, is a cable TV network created by media mogul Ted Turner and launched with a showing of his favorite film, Gone with the Wind, on October 3, 1988. ... It has been suggested that NBC Radio City Studios, NBC Studios be merged into this article or section. ... ‹The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... Boxing After Dark is an HBO boxing program that usually shows fights between well-known contenders, but usually not championship or title fights. ... Pay-per-view is the name given to a system by which television viewers can call and order events to be seen on TV and pay for the private telecast of that event to their homes later. ...


Documentaries

Many of HBO's documentary series appear under the America Undercover brand. Among the regular AU features are Real Sex and Autopsy. America Undercover is a series of documentaries that airs on the cable television network HBO. Within the series are several sub_series, such as Autopsy and Taxicab Confessions. External link HBO America Undercover site Categories: Television stubs | HBO network shows | Documentary televisions series ... Real Sex is a television series broadcast on and a production of HBO. As its name implies, Real Sex is a sexually explicit magazine which explores sex 90s style. ... Autopsy is a television subseries of HBOs America Undercover documentary series. ...


In 2004, guided by human rights activist Ansar Burney, an HBO team used a hidden camera to document slavery and torture in secret desert camps where boys under the age of five were trained to race camels, a national sport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This half-hour investigative report exposed a carefully hidden child slavery ring that bought or kidnapped hundreds of young boys in Pakistan and Bangladesh. These boys were then forced to become camel jockeys in the UAE. The report also questioned the sincerity of U.S. diplomacy in pressuring an ally, the UAE, to comply with its own stated policy of banning the use of children under 15 from camel racing. Species Camelus bactrianus Camelus dromedarius Camels are even-toed ungulates in the genus Camelus. ...


The documentary won a Sports Emmy Award in 2004 for "Outstanding Sports Journalism" and the 2006 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for outstanding broadcast journalism. It also brought world attention to the plight of child camel jockeys in the Middle East and helped Ansar Burney Trust to convince the governments of Qatar and the UAE to end the use of children in this sport


HBO is also noted for its "Sports of the 20th Century" documentary brand. One of its most recent documentaries was "Dare to Dream" about the U.S. Women's Soccer Team and their effort to make a difference. This documentary featured Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Brandi Chastain, Joy Fawcett, and Julie Foudy. Mia Hamm-Garciaparra (born Mariel Margaret Hamm on March 17, 1972 in Selma, Alabama) is a former American soccer (association football) player. ... Kristine Marie Lilly (born July 22, 1971 in New York City) is an American soccer player, who has been a fixture on the U.S. womens national team since 1987. ... Brandi Chastain Joey dude has nuts(born July 21, 1968) is a soccer player who has been a member of the award winning United States womens national soccer team since 1991. ... Joy Fawcett is an American professional soccer player. ... Julie Maurine Foudy (born January 23, 1971 in San Diego, California) was a midfielder for the United States womens national soccer team from 1987 through 2004. ...


In 2006, film director Spike Lee made a four-hour documentary on Hurricane Katrina called When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, which was broken up into two parts. 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia), better known as Spike Lee, is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his films dealing with social and political issues. ... Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ...


Branding

When the network launched in 1972, the HBO identity was (and still is) a uppercase 'HBO' with a circle inside the 'O'. However, for the first few years, the logo featured the 'B' and the 'O' interlocked with each other with the left portion of the 'O' cut off and ridged into the 'B'. The logo was modified in 1980 (not completely replacing the original until 1981) when HBO started using the current logo with the 'B' and the 'O' still attached to each other but with a whole 'O'. The simplicity of the logo makes it somewhat easy to duplicate, something HBO has taken advantage of many times over the years. It does not correspond to one particular font; however, a few common geometric typefaces (including Arial Black) are close. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...


The fanfare to the HBO in Space movie open, originally composed by Ferdinand J. Smith has become a sort of musical logo for the network with numerous reorchestrations of this fanfare being used, varying from the traditional horns to piano.


Unless otherwise noted, HBO is one of the few pay-TV networks remaining that does not currently brand programming with semi-transparent logos of the main network and each respective theme channel.


Merchandising

The HBO Trademark has been used in various products. In 2005, HBO launched a deal with Cingular Wireless to create HBO Mobile. HBO Mobile, a pay service feature much like the cable network itself, features information on HBO original series such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City and others, including episode guides, wallpapers and ringtones voiced by cast members of HBO series. Cingular Wireless is the largest United States mobile phone company, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ... The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a fictional Italian-American Mafia family in Northern New Jersey. ... Sex and the City is a popular American cable television program based on the novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell. ...


In 2005, a version of the DVD interactive game Scene It was released tailored to the HBO network itself. It features trivia on various HBO series.


See also

HBO Boxing is a successful TV series that has shown many of boxings greatest fights and historic events during the last 30 years. ... HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. ... HBO Asia is a franchise of HBO in Asia. ... John R. MacDougall, also known as Captain Midnight, is an electronic engineer and business owner, who jammed HBOs satellite signal in 1986 to broadcast a message protesting their rates for satellite dish owners. ... Below is a numerical representation of the DirecTV channel lineup. ... This is a list of the channels receivable from DISH Network. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
HBO - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (3205 words)
HBO is a subscription-only service and does not carry normal commercials; both of these factors relieve HBO from pressures to tone down controversial aspects in their programs, thus allowing for explicit themes, such as graphic violence, explicit sex, profanity, and drug use.
HBO has international operations in Latin America, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania (and Moldova), Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and South Asia(Bangladesh, India and Pakistan).
HBO also packages the Eastern and Pacific feeds of the main channel together, allowing viewers a second chance to watch the same movie/program three hours later/earlier depending on their geographic location.
Mandrake (TV series) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1296 words)
The series was produced by HBO's local partner, Conspiração Filmes, on a budget of USD$6.5 million and first aired on October 30, 2005, being broadcast on Sundays at 11 O'clock pm (local Brazilian time: UTC -3).
HBO would be responsible for funding the project and would have a say over the general layout of the project (which would have to meet the network's pattern of quality).
Under HBO's general guidance, the show was shot in pelicule and the format of the episodes (which would be only a few), were to be the standard HBO format: approximately fifty minutes of running time, without commercials.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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