HBO Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Movie library=== {{See also|List of HBO Films films}} On average, movies occupy between 14 and 18 hours of the daily schedule on HBO and HBO2 (or as little as 12 hours on the latter, depending upon if HBO2 is scheduled to carry an extended "catch-up" marathon of an HBO original series), and up to 20 hours per day—depending on channel format—on its five thematic multiplex channels. Since June 6, 1992, HBO has offered weekly pay television premieres of recent theatrical and original made-for-cable movies on Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. (Event presentations that have followed the movie—such as boxing coverage or concerts—have caused rare variances in the preceding film's start time; if a live event was scheduled, before the December 2018 discontinuation of HBO's boxing telecasts, the premiered film would air after the event—in reverse order from the Eastern feed scheduling—on the Pacific Time Zone feed.) From June 1996 until September 2006, the presentations were marketed as the "Saturday Night Guarantee" to denote a promise of "a new movie [premiering] every Saturday night" all 52 weeks of the year. (HBO had highlighted said "guarantee" in promotions for the Saturday premiere night dating to January 1994.) Before settling on having Saturday serve as its anchor premiere night, the scheduling of HBO's prime-time film premieres varied between Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday, depending on competition from broadcast fare during the traditional network television season. First-run theatrical films debut on average from ten months to one year after a film's initial theatrical run has concluded, and no more than six months after their DVD or digital VOD download release.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cable Mavericks Collection: David Baldwin|url=https://www.cablecenter.org/media-room/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=157|website=The Cable Center|date=December 6, 2007|access-date=July 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hooray for Hollywood|url=https://variety.com/2003/scene/markets-festivals/hooray-for-hollywood-2-1117891251/|author=Jack Egan|website=Variety|date=August 24, 2003|access-date=July 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO trumpets Saturday night at the movies |author=Rich Brown |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=24 |date=August 8, 1994}}</ref> [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19]]-related [[Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema|postponements of newer theatrical releases]] by its distribution partners caused HBO to reduce the frequency of scheduled theatrical premieres in September 2020; since then, the Saturday 8:00 slot has been occupied by premieres of original specials and documentaries (scheduled at least once per month) and, since late December 2020, airings of older hit movies (mainly films released between 1979 and 2015) distributed under library content deals during gap weeks in the monthly premiere schedule. As of 2024, HBO and sister channel Cinemax (as well as their associated streaming platforms) maintain exclusive licensing agreements to first-run and library film content from the following studios and their related subsidiaries: * [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Pictures Group]] (since January 1987);<ref name="times-hbowarnerdeal">{{cite news|title=HBO Signs Deal for Exclusive Pay-TV Rights to Warner Movies|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-06-05-fi-9512-story.html|author=Kathryn Harris|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 5, 1986|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> ** '''Subsidiaries:''' [[New Line Cinema]] (since January 2005),<ref name="very-hbounideal">{{cite news|title=HBO eclipses Starz in 8-year U pact|url=https://variety.com/2001/tv/news/hbo-eclipses-starz-in-8-year-u-pact-1117793026/|author=John Dempsey|periodical=Variety|date=January 30, 2001}}</ref> [[Warner Bros. Pictures Animation]] (since January 2014), [[DC Studios]] (since May 2017), and [[Castle Rock Entertainment]] (since January 2003); ** '''Library content:''' [[Warner Independent Pictures]] (2003–2008 releases) * [[A24]] (since January 2024);<ref name="vty-hboa24deal">{{cite web|title=A24 Movies to Stream Exclusively on HBO and Max Under New Deal, Including ‘Priscilla’ and ‘Iron Claw’|url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/a24-hbo-max-stream-exclusively-output-deal-priscilla-iron-claw-1235824282/|author=Todd Spangler|magazine=Variety|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|date=December 6, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2024}}</ref> ** '''Library content:''' (for post-2012 releases, since August 2022)<ref name="wrap-hboa24deal">{{cite web|title=HBO Max to Add Big Collection of A24 Films Including ‘Ex Machina’ and ‘Room’ in August|url=https://www.thewrap.com/hbo-max-a24-films-room-ex-machina-locke-august-1/|author=Sharon Knolle|website=The Wrap|date=July 19, 2022|access-date=April 14, 2024}}</ref> HBO also maintains sub-run agreements—covering television and streaming licensing of films that have previously received broadcast or syndicated television airings—for theatrical films distributed by [[Paramount Pictures]] (including content from subsidiaries or acquired library partners [[Miramax]], [[Carolco Pictures]], [[Nickelodeon Movies]] and [[Republic Pictures]], all for films released prior to 2013), [[Universal Pictures]] (including content from subsidiaries [[Universal Animation Studios]], [[DreamWorks Animation]], [[Working Title Films]], [[Illumination (company)|Illumination]], and [[Focus Features]], all for films released prior to 2022), [[Summit Entertainment]] (for films released prior to 2023), [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] (including content from [[Walt Disney Pictures]], [[20th Century Studios]], and [[Searchlight Pictures]] (except films co-produced by [[Pixar]]), and former subsidiaries [[Touchstone Pictures]], and [[Hollywood Pictures]], all for films released prior to 2023), [[Sony Pictures|Sony Pictures Entertainment]] (including content from subsidiaries/library partners [[Columbia Pictures]], [[Sony Pictures Classics]], [[Embassy Pictures|ELP Communications]], [[Morgan Creek Entertainment]], [[Screen Gems]], [[Revolution Studios]], and former HBO sister company [[TriStar Pictures]]), and [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] (including content from subsidiaries [[Orion Pictures]], and former subsidiaries [[United Artists]], [[The Cannon Group, Inc.|The Cannon Group]], and [[The Samuel Goldwyn Company]]). HBO also produces made-for-cable television movies through a sister production unit [[HBO Films]], which traces its origins to the 1983 founding of HBO Premiere Films. Originally developed to produce original television movies and miniseries with higher budgets and production values than other telefilms, the film unit's first original movie project was the 1983 biopic ''[[The Terry Fox Story]]''. Differing from other direct-to-cable television films, most of HBO's original movies have been helmed by major film actors (such as [[James Stewart]], [[Michael Douglas]], [[Drew Barrymore]], [[Stanley Tucci]], [[Halle Berry]] and [[Elizabeth Taylor]]). The unit—which would be rechristened HBO Pictures in 1985—expanded beyond its telefilm slate, which was scaled back to focus on independent film production in 1984.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Pleased with 'Fox' |periodical=Broadcasting |page=9 |date=August 22, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO SETS A TREND IN CABLE MOVIES|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1985-07-28-8501310963-story.html|author=Bill Kelley|newspaper=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel|Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel]]|date=July 28, 1985|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref> The current HBO Films unit was formed in October 1999 through the consolidation of HBO Pictures and [[HBO NYC Productions]] (created as HBO Showcase in 1986, and following its June 1996 restructuring, had also occasionally produced drama series for the network).<ref>{{cite news|title=TV VIEW; HBO'S NEW 'SHOWCASE' DISPLAYS PROMISE|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/20/arts/tv-view-hbo-s-new-showcase-displays-promise.html|author=John J. O'Connor|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 20, 1986|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Coming next year |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=October 21, 1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Films taps exex|url=https://variety.com/1999/biz/news/hbo-films-taps-exex-1117758117/|author=Chris Pursell|periodical=Variety|date=November 17, 1999|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO boosts made-for slate |author=Jim McConville |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=47 |date=June 10, 1996}}</ref> Since 1984, HBO Films has also maintained an exclusive licensing agreement with HBO (later expanded to include Cinemax) for theatrical productions produced by the unit and, since HBO became co-owned with the film division through the 1989 Time-Warner merger, distributed through Warner Bros. Entertainment. Films to which HBO maintains traditional telecast and streaming rights will usually also be shown on the Cinemax television and streaming platforms during their licensing agreement period (either after a film title completes its HBO window or transfers between services over certain months during the contractual period). Feature films from the aforementioned studios that maintain joint licensing contracts encompassing both services will typically make their premium television debut on HBO approximately two to three months before their premiere on Cinemax and vice versa. ====Background==== HBO's relationship with Warner Bros. began with a five-year distribution agreement signed in June 1986, encompassing films released between January 1987 and December 1992; the estimated cost of the initial pay-cable rights was between $300 million and $600 million, depending on the overall performance of Warner's films and HBO/Cinemax's respective subscriber counts. Although the Warner deal was initially non-exclusive, a preemptive strategy if its co-owned rivals [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] and The Movie Channel (which elected not to pick up any spare Warner titles) sought full exclusivity over movie rights, the terms gave Warner an option to require HBO to acquire exclusive rights to titles covered under the remainder of the deal for $60 million per year (in addition to a guaranteed $65 million fee for each year of the contract).<ref name="times-hbowarnerdeal" /><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO signs pact with Warner. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=160 |date=June 9, 1986}}</ref> As a result of the 1989 Time-Warner merger, HBO and Cinemax hold pay-cable exclusivity over all newer Warner Bros. films for the duration of their joint ownership. HBO and HBO Max initially reached a pay television and streaming rights deal with A24 (which had partnered with HBO to produce selected original series and specials since 2017, beginning with the comedy special ''[[Jerrod Carmichael]]: 8'') on July 18, 2022, which gave them library rights to the independent studio's 2013–2021 releases.<ref name="wrap-hboa24deal"/> On December 6, 2023, as part of a broader agreement that extended the studio's library content deal with both Warner Bros. Discovery-owned platforms, A24 announced it had entered into a multi-year output deal to distribute its films on HBO and Max following their theatrical release; the deal succeeded a pay-one exclusivity agreement that A24 had maintained with Showtime since 2019, which concluded at the end of 2023.<ref name="vty-hboa24deal"/><ref>{{cite web|title=New A24 Movies to Stream Exclusively on Max in New Output Deal|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hbo-max-a24-deal-1235712928/|author=Mia Galuppo|author2=Carolyn Giardina|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|date=December 6, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2024}}</ref> ====Former first-run contracts==== Being the first pay-cable service to go national, for many years, HBO was advantageous in acquiring film licensing rights from major and independent studios; until Showtime, The Movie Channel, and other premium channels started beefing up their movie product to compete with HBO in the early 1980s, HBO's dominance in the pay-cable led to complaints from many motion picture companies of the network holding monopoly power in the pay cable industry and a disproportionate advantage in film acquisition negotiations.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Movie makers complain of HBO 'monopoly' |periodical=Broadcasting |page=51 |date=December 5, 1977}}</ref> During the early years of premium cable, the major American movie studios often sold the pay television rights to an individual theatrical film title to multiple "maxi-pay" and "mini-pay" services—often including HBO and later, Cinemax—resulting in frequent same-month scheduling duplication amongst the competing services. From its launch as a regional service, HBO purchased broadcast rights to theatrical movies on a per-title basis. The network pioneered the pay television industry practice, known as a "pre-buy", of buying the pay-cable rights to a movie from its releasing studio before it started filming, in exchange for agreeing to pay a specified share of a film's production costs; this allowed HBO to maintain exclusivity over film output arrangements and to save money allocated for film acquisitions.<ref>{{cite news|title=HOME BOX OFFICE MOVES INTO HOLLYWOOD|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/12/magazine/home-box-office-moves-into-hollywood.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 12, 1983|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> In June 1976, it signed a four-year exclusive deal with [[Columbia Pictures]] for a package of 20 films released between January 1977 and January 1981, in exchange for then-parent company Time, Inc. committing a $5-million production financing investment with Columbia over between 12 and 18 months.<ref name="b&c-hbodeals76">{{cite magazine |title=HBO makes deals for movies, cable system |periodical=Broadcasting |page=55 |date=June 28, 1976}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=HBO makes deals for movies, cable system |periodical=Broadcasting |page=56 |date=June 28, 1976}}</ref><ref name="Movie Duels">{{cite web|title=It's Not TV: HBO, The Company That Changed Television: The Movie Duels|url=http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-the-movie-duels/|author=Bill Mesce|publisher=Sound on Sight|date=September 2, 2013|access-date=February 1, 2014|archive-date=February 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202101645/http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-the-movie-duels/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Although HBO executives were reluctant at first to strike such arrangements, by the mid-1980s, the channel had transitioned to exclusive film output deals (now the standard among North American premium channels), in which a film studio licenses all or a proportion of their upcoming productions to a partner service over a multi-year contract. In 1983, HBO entered into three exclusive licensing agreements tied to production financing arrangements involving Tri-Star Pictures (formed as a co-production venture between Time, Inc./HBO, Columbia, and CBS Inc.), Columbia Pictures (an exclusivity-based contract extension initially covering 50% of the studio's pre-June 1986 releases with a non-compete option to purchase additional Columbia titles) and [[Orion Pictures]] (encompassing a package of 30 films, in return for financial participation and a $10-million securities investment; the deal was indirectly associated with Orion's buyout of [[Filmways]] the year prior, in which HBO bought pay television rights to the studio's films). All three deals were approved under a [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]] review greenlighting the Tri-Star venture in June of that year. (The Tri-Star deal became non-exclusive in January 1988, although Showtime elected not to acquire titles from HBO's film rights lessees.)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Tri-Star gets go-ahead from Justice |periodical=Broadcasting |page=35 |date=June 28, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=CBS, Time Inc. (HBO) and Coca-Cola (Columbia) join forces to prime pump in movie production |periodical=Broadcasting |page=35 |date=December 6, 1982}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=CBS, Time Inc. (HBO) and Coca -Cola (Columbia) join forces to prime pump in movie production |periodical=Broadcasting |page=36 |date=December 6, 1982}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO and Orion group buy into Filmways |periodical=Broadcasting |page=76 |date=February 15, 1982}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=HBO and Orion group buy into Filmways |periodical=Broadcasting |page=77 |date=February 15, 1982}}</ref> After the exclusive contract transferred to Showtime in January 1994, in July 1995, HBO preemptively signed a five-year deal with the studio that took effect in January 2000, in conjunction with a five-year extension of its existing deal with Columbia Pictures. (Columbia and TriStar's respective output deals with HBO ended on December 31, 2004, when [[Sony Pictures]] transferred exclusive pay-cable rights for their films to Starz—which {{As of|2020|May|lc=y}}, holds rights to televise all recent releases from either studio through December 2021, after which in January 2022, under a five-year agreement signed in April 2021, Netflix will assume pay television rights to its newer Sony films—after HBO declined a request by Columbia during contract negotiations to allow the studio to experimentally distribute its theatrical films via streaming video during its contract window.)<ref>{{cite news|title=H.B.O. Signs Studios' Deal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/29/business/hbo-signs-studios-deal.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 29, 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=TriStar titles go to Showtime|url=https://variety.com/1993/film/news/tristar-titles-go-to-showtime-108089/|author=John Dempsey|periodical=Variety|date=June 23, 1993|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO grabs TriStar rights|url=https://variety.com/1995/tv/features/hbo-grabs-tristar-rights-99129219/|author=John Dempsey|periodical=Variety|date=July 10, 1995|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Starz renews deal to get Sony movies through 2021; deal seen as must-win for channel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/starz-renews-deal-to-get-sony-movies-through-2021-deal-seen-as-must-win-for-channel/2013/02/11/fe7ae5d4-7473-11e2-9889-60bfcbb02149_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=February 11, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524182248/http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/starz-renews-deal-to-get-sony-movies-through-2021-deal-seen-as-must-win-for-channel/2013/02/11/fe7ae5d4-7473-11e2-9889-60bfcbb02149_story.html|archive-date=May 24, 2015}}</ref><ref name="vty-hbounihomerun"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Sony Pictures Moves Movie Output Deal From Starz to Netflix in Rich Pact|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/netflix-sony-pictures-pay-1-starz-output-1234946413/|author1=Matt Donnelly|author2=Cynthia Littleton|periodical=Variety|date=April 8, 2021|access-date=June 17, 2021}}</ref> In February 1983, HBO signed an agreement with [[Silver Screen Partners]] (a now-defunct joint venture between HBO, Silver Screen Management, [[Thorn EMI]] and [[The Cannon Group, Inc.|The Cannon Group]]), in which HBO had right of first refusal in the film selection and received 5% of all profits derived from non-pay-cable distribution of the studio's films; the Silver Screen agreement concluded upon the studio's cessation in 1998.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=In Brief. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=120 |date=February 28, 1983}}</ref> In early 1984, HBO abandoned the exclusivity practice, citing internal research that concluded that subscribers showed indifference to efforts by premium channels to secure rights to studios' full slate of recently released films from to distinguish their programming due to [[VHS]] availability preceding pay-cable distribution in the release window. This change came after the firing of then-HBO chairman [[Frank Biondi]], reportedly for having "overextended the network in pre-buy and exclusive movie deals" as subscribership of pay-cable services declined. Biondi's replacement, Michael J. Fuchs, structured some of the subsequent deals as non-exclusive to allow HBO to divert more funding toward co-producing made-for-cable movies, other original programming, and theatrical joint ventures (via Tri-Star and Silver Screen Partners).<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: All in the Family |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=November 14, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Face-lift |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=March 12, 1984}}</ref><ref name="nyt-festival"/> In July 1986, the network had signed a three-year output deal with [[New World Pictures]], whereas HBO would receive up to 75 New World films Showtime won't, which cost $50 million to sign a deal.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Daniels|first=Bill|date=1986-07-30|title=HBO Signs An Exclusive Deal For New World Theatricals; Paycabler Muffles Satisfaction|page=42|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> On August 8, 1986, HBO had inked a non-exclusive agreement with [[Lorimar-Telepictures]] to enable a package of various Lorimar-Telepictures theatrical films up to 1989, and Lorimar-Telepictures would be involved as a production partner on several made-for-HBO television movies, in exchange for worldwide distribution rights, excluding pay television, and the current plans for the agreement enables five to six films per year from Lorimar-Telepictures.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Daniels|first=Bill|date=1986-08-06|title=L-T, HBO Enter Into A Two-Way Cable Film Deal|page=58|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> In September 1986, the network signed a five-year agreement with MGM/UA Communications Co. for a package of up to 72 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and [[United Artists]] films.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: HBO-MGM deal |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=September 1, 1986}}</ref> Also that month, HBO signed a pay cable and home video agreement with film producer [[Stephen J. Friedman (producer)|Kings Road Entertainment]], which will serve eight films, with the home video rights being assigned to subsidiary [[Home Box Office, Inc.|HBO/Cannon Video]], and the first film under the eight-picture agreement between HBO and Kings Road would be ''Touch & Go'', and will cost $65-$70 million.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1986-09-24|title=HBO Buys Rights To Kings Road Pix|page=37|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> In November 1986, HBO signed an agreement with [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]] for films that ran between 1987 and 1990, along with a three-year home video rights contract for sister label HBO/Cannon Video.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1986-11-26|title=HBO/Cannon Nabs Rights To DEG Pix|page=39|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> In December 1986, HBO signed a pact with Soviet Union producer Poseidon Films, to cover Soviet-based films that covered a non-specific timespan, with the network controlling US and Canada rights.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1986-12-17|title=HBO Signs Film Pact With Soviet Union|pages=42, 80|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> In July 1987, HBO signed a five-year, $500-million deal for exclusive rights to 85 Paramount Pictures films to have been tentatively released between May 1988 and May 1993. (This solidified an existing alliance with Paramount dating to 1979, for the non-exclusive rights to the studio's films.) Though this contract would herald the end of its embargo on new film exclusivity deals, HBO's then-CEO Michael Fuchs cited Showtime–The Movie Channel parent [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]] (which, at the time, had debt in excess of $2.4 billion) for it having to obtain exclusivity for the Paramount package, which the studio approached HBO directly to bid.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO signs $500-million film deal with Paramount |periodical=Broadcasting |page=21 |date=July 20, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Buying Rights To Paramount Films|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/15/business/hbo-buying-rights-to-paramount-films.html|author=Geraldine Fabrikant|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 15, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=The HBO-Showtime struggle for Hollywood films |periodical=Broadcasting |page=38 |date=July 27, 1987}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=The HBO-Showtime struggle for Hollywood films |periodical=Broadcasting |page=39 |date=July 27, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Monitor: Now In HBO's Inventory. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=69 |date=December 3, 1979}}</ref> The Paramount package remained with HBO/Cinemax until December 1997; Showtime assumed the pay-cable rights to the studio's films in January 1998, under a seven-year deal reached as a byproduct of Viacom's 1994 purchase of Paramount from Paramount Communications, and held them until December 2008. (Shared rival [[Epix (TV network)|Epix]]—created as a consortium between Paramount/[[Viacom (2005–2019)|Viacom]], Lionsgate, and now-sole owner MGM—took over pay television rights upon that network's October 2009 launch.)<ref>{{cite news|title=Showtime announces deal with Paramount|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/05/19/Showtime-announces-deal-with-Paramount/8824800856000/|work=United Press International|date=May 19, 1995|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=NATPE 2009: Studio 3's New Net Will Be Epix Premium channel to launch Q4 2009|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/syndication-and-distribution/natpe-2009-studio-3%E2%80%99s-new-net-will-be-epix/50779|author=Paige Albiniak|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|date=January 27, 2009|access-date=March 23, 2015}}</ref> In March 1995, HBO signed a ten-year deal with the then-upstart [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks SKG]] valued at between $600 million and $1 billion, depending on the total output of films and generated revenue during the contract, covering the studio's tentative releases between January 1996 and December 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Buys Rights to New Studio's Films|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/09/business/hbo-buys-rights-to-new-studio-s-films.html|author=Geraldine Fabrikant|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|date=March 9, 1995|access-date=March 19, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO's 'Dream' deal: $600 million-$1 billion |author=Rich Brown |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=March 13, 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=March Gladness For HBO: A Billion-Dollar Deal And Costner, Too|url=http://articles.philly.com/1995-03-14/entertainment/25701186_1_rating-dreamworks-abc|author=Lee Winfrey|agency=[[New York Daily News]] and Knight-Ridder News Service|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=March 14, 1995}}</ref> By result of the 2004 spin-off of its animation arm [[DreamWorks Animation]] into a standalone company, DreamWorks' pay-cable distribution rights were split up into separate contracts: in March 2010, Showtime acquired the rights to live-action films from the original DreamWorks studio (coinciding with the transfer of co-production agreement from Paramount Pictures to [[Touchstone Pictures]], then a Showtime distribution partner) for five years, effective January 2011.<ref>{{cite news|title=Showtime signs deal to air DreamWorks films|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dreamworks-idUSTRE62B05H20100312|work=[[Reuters]]|date=March 12, 2010}}</ref> Then in September 2011, after HBO agreed to waive the last two years of its contract, Netflix acquired the DreamWorks Animation contract effective upon the December 2012 expiration of the HBO deal. (Before the 2015 launch of HBO Now, HBO required its studio output partners to suspend digital sales of their movies during their exclusive contractual window with the network; the Netflix deal was not subject to any distribution restrictions, allowing DreamWorks Animation to continue the re-sale of its films through digital download via third-party providers.)<ref>{{cite news|title=Netflix Secures Streaming Deal With DreamWorks|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/business/media/netflix-secures-streaming-deal-with-dreamworks.html|author=Brooks Barnes|author2=[[Brian Stelter]]|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 26, 2011|access-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Showtime Inks Deal With DreamWorks|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/showtime-inks-deal-dreamworks-363405|author=R. Thomas Umstead|periodical=Multichannel News|date=March 15, 2010|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> 20th Century Fox first signed a non-exclusive deal with HBO in January 1986, covering Fox films released between 1985 and 1988, along with a production co-financing agreement involving HBO original programs; the pact transitioned to an exclusivity arrangement with the 1988 renewal.<ref name="nyt-foxhbo">{{cite news|title=Fox-Time Venture|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/25/business/fox-time-venture.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 25, 1986|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Change of heart |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=January 27, 1986}}</ref><ref name="b&c-hbofoxexclusive">{{cite magazine |title=HBO bags Fox films |periodical=Broadcasting |page=38 |date=May 16, 1988}}</ref> The first-run film output agreement with Fox was renewed by HBO for ten years on August 15, 2012 (with a provision allowing the studio to release its films through digital platforms such as [[iTunes]] and [[Amazon Prime Video|Amazon Video]] during the channel's term of license of an acquired film for the first time).<ref name="HBO Fox">{{cite news|title=HBO and 20th Century Fox renew output deal|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-hbo20th-20120815,0,5442974.story|author=Joe Flint|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 15, 2012}}</ref> While [[The Walt Disney Company]] completed its acquisition of 20th Century Fox in March 2019, Disney maintains an output deal with its in-house streaming services [[Disney+]] and [[Hulu]] for films produced or distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and its subsidiaries (which have not distributed their films over a traditional pay-cable service since the studio's agreement with HBO rival [[Starz (TV channel)|Starz]] ended in 2015). Disney continued to honor the output deal with HBO until November 2021, when WarnerMedia and Disney announced that the deal would be expanded to the end of 2022, with an amendment that would allow half of 20th Century Studios' 2022 slate to be shared between HBO or HBO Max and Disney+ or Hulu during the pay-one window beginning with ''[[Ron's Gone Wrong]]''.<ref name="20thHBO2022">{{cite web |last1=Spangler |first1=Todd |title=Disney, WarnerMedia Carve Up Fox Film Slate Streaming Rights Through End of 2022 (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/disney-warnermedia-fox-movies-streaming-2022-1235117329/ |website=Variety |date=22 November 2021}}</ref> HBO's relationship with Universal first began in March 1984, when it signed a six-year non-exclusivity deal with the studio; in April 1990, Universal elected to sign a deal with CBS for the licensing rights to a package of the studio's ten 1989 releases, bypassing the traditional pay-cable window.<ref name="b&c-hbouni84">{{cite magazine |title=HBO signs pact with Universal |periodical=Broadcasting |page=110 |date=March 19, 1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; CBS Is Said to Get 10 Films To Show Before Cable TV|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/09/business/the-media-business-cbs-is-said-to-get-10-films-to-show-before-cable-tv.html|author=Geraldine Fabrikant|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 9, 1990|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=CBS takes Universal films passed on by cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=57 |date=April 16, 1990}}</ref> The current Universal output deal—which began as an eight-year agreement that originally lasted through December 2010, assuming the studio's pay-cable rights from Starz—was renewed for ten years on January 6, 2013; the current deal gives HBO [[right of first refusal]] over select Universal titles, allowing the studio to exercise an option to license co-distributed live-action films to Showtime and animated films to Netflix if HBO elects not to obtain pay television rights to a particular film. (Universal put a 50% cap on title acquisitions for the first year of the initial 2003–10 contract, intending to split the rights between HBO and Starz as consolation for the latter outbidding HBO for the Sony Pictures output deal.)<ref name="vty-hbounihomerun">{{cite web|title=Inside Move: HBO Home Run|url=https://variety.com/2001/tv/news/inside-move-hbo-home-run-1117793244/|author=John Dempsey|periodical=Variety|date=February 6, 2001|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO extends Universal deal, keeping films from Netflix|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/news/hbo-extends-universal-studio-deal-keeping-films-netflix-201204480--finance.html|website=[[Yahoo! Movies]]|publisher=[[Yahoo!]]|date=January 6, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109032117/http://movies.yahoo.com/news/hbo-extends-universal-studio-deal-keeping-films-netflix-201204480--finance.html|archive-date=January 9, 2013}}</ref> On July 6, 2021, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group announced it would begin releasing its theatrical films on [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]] after its exclusivity agreement with HBO concludes at the end of 2021, under a fragmented window (starting within 120 days of a film's theatrical release) through which Peacock will hold exclusive rights to Universal titles in bookending four-month windows at the beginning and end of the 18-month pay-one distribution period.<ref>{{cite web|title=Universal Moves Film Licensing Deal From HBO to Peacock, Bolstering Streaming Service|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/universal-moves-hbo-peacock-streaming-service-1235012751/|author=Brent Lang|periodical=Variety|date=July 6, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Peacock Will Become Pay-One Partner For All Universal Pics After HBO Deal Expiration At Year's End|url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/peacock-will-become-pay-one-partner-for-all-universal-pics-after-hbo-deal-expiration-at-years-end-1234787069/|author=Anthony D'Alessandro|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 6, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021}}</ref> Subsequently, [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] (on July 8) and Starz (on July 16) signed separate multi-year sub-licensing agreements, in which Universal films would stream on Prime Video and [[IMDb TV]] in a 10-month non-exclusivity window during the middle of the period and air on Starz's linear and streaming platforms following the Peacock/Amazon windows; HBO will continue to release Universal's 2021 film slate under their existing contracts through 2022, while Netflix will continue to offer the studio's animated films thereafter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Amazon Prime Video & IMDb TV Ink Movie Licensing Deal With Universal|url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/amazon-prime-video-imdb-tv-universal-licensing-deal-1234788103/|author=Anthony D'Alessandro|author2=Nellie Andreeva|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Starz Inks Post Pay-One Licensing Deal For Universal Movies|url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/starz-post-pay-one-licensing-deal-universal-jurassic-park-dominion-1234793988/|author=Nellie Andreeva|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Netflix, Universal Extend and Expand Animated Film Licensing Deal (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/netflix-universal-dreamworks-animation-minions-1235018397/|author=Brent Lang|periodical=Variety|date=July 13, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021}}</ref> The first-run output deal with Summit Entertainment—which initially ran through December 2017, and replaced Showtime (which had exclusive rights to its films from January 2008 until December 2012) as the studio's pay-cable output partner when it initially went into effect in 2013—was renewed by HBO for an additional four years on March 1, 2016. (Summit is currently the only "mini-major" movie studio and the only studio not among the five core majors that maintains an exclusive output deal with HBO.)<ref name="HBO Chief">{{cite news|title=HBO Chief Talks HBO Now, International Expansion and Summit Output Extension|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/hbo-chief-richard-plepler-summit-entertainment-1201720758/|author=Cynthia Littleton|periodical=Variety|date=March 2, 2016}}</ref> On March 2, 2021, it was announced that the deal with HBO through to the end of 2022 expires.<ref>{{cite web|title=Summit, HBO Sign Five-Year Output Deal|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/summit-hbo-sign-five-year-192658|author=Gregg Kilday|periodical=The Hollywood Reporter|date=May 26, 2011|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=HBO and Summit Entertainment Enter into Exclusive Output Agreement|url=http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2011/05/26/hbo-and-summit-entertainment-enter-into-exclusive-output-agreement-328415/20110526hbo04/|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc./Time Warner|via=The Futon Critic|date=May 26, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Vlessing">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lionsgate-summit-label-films-headed-to-starz-for-exclusive-first-window-4141830|title=Lionsgate, Summit Label Films Headed to Starz for Exclusive First Window|last=Vlessing|first=Etan|date=March 2, 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en|access-date=July 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426164846/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lionsgate-summit-label-films-headed-to-starz-for-exclusive-first-window-4141830|archive-date=April 26, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Other film studios which formerly maintained first-run pay-cable contracts with HBO have included [[American Film Theatre]] (non-exclusive, 1975–1977),<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Kahn still puts his chips on cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=52 |date=July 14, 1975}}</ref> [[Walt Disney Pictures|Walt Disney Productions]] (non-exclusive, 1978–1982),<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Disney fare to cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=42 |date=July 17, 1978}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Monitor: HBO says 'Hi, Mickey.' |periodical=Broadcasting |page=93 |date=December 22, 1980}}</ref> [[The Samuel Goldwyn Company]] (non-exclusive, 1979–1986),<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hat in the ring. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=68 |date=October 29, 1979}}</ref> [[ITC Entertainment]] (non-exclusive, 1982–1990), New World Pictures (non-exclusive, 1982–1986), [[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment]] (non-exclusive, 1984–1989), [[Hemdale Film Corporation]] (non-exclusive, 1982–1986; exclusive, 1987–1991)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Exclusivity deals |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=September 29, 1986}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Exclusivity deals |periodical=Broadcasting |page=14 |date=September 29, 1986}}</ref> [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]] (non-exclusive, 1988–1991)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: De Laurentiis deal |periodical=Broadcasting |page=14 |date=December 1, 1986}}</ref> [[Lorimar Television#Theatrical films|Lorimar Film Entertainment]] (non-exclusive, 1987–1990),<ref>{{cite news|title=Lorimar-Telepictures and HBO reached agreement.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-01-fi-19129-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 1, 1986|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> [[Hemdale Film Corporation]] (non-exclusive, 1982–1986) and [[Savoy Pictures]] (exclusive, 1992–1997).<ref>{{cite news|title=Savoy Pictures and HBO Cut a Film Deal|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-16-fi-654-story.html|author=John Lippman|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 16, 1992|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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