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! ===Background=== To reduce subscriber [[churn rate|churn]] by offering extra programming choices to subscribers, on May 8, 1991, Home Box Office Inc. announced plans to launch two additional channels of HBO and Cinemax, becoming the first subscription television services to launch "[[multiplex (television)|multiplexed]]" companion channels (a term coined by then-CEO Michael Fuchs to equate the programming choices that would be provided to subscribers of the channel tier to that offered by [[Multiplex (movie theater)|multi-screen movie theaters]]), each available at no extra charge to subscribers of one or both networks. (The three prior premium services that HBO launched between 1979 and 1987, Cinemax and the now-defunct Take 2 and Festival, were developed as standalone services that could be purchased separately from and optionally packaged with HBO.) On August 1, 1991, through a test launch of the three channels over those systems, TeleCable customers in [[Overland Park, Kansas]], [[Racine, Wisconsin]] and suburban [[Dallas]] ([[Richardson, Texas|Richardson]] and [[Plano, Texas]]) that subscribed to either service began receiving two additional HBO channels or a secondary channel of Cinemax. HBO2 (later renamed HBO Plus, then reverted to its original name), HBO3 (now HBO Signature), and Cinemax 2 (now MoreMax) each offered distinct schedules of programs culled from HBO and Cinemax's movie and original programming libraries separate from offerings shown concurrently on their respective parent primary channels. (Cinemax was originally scheduled to launch a tertiary channel, Cinemax 3, on November 1, 1991, but these plans were shelved until 1996.)<ref>{{cite news|title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; HBO Planning to Add New Movie Channels|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/09/business/the-media-business-hbo-planning-to-add-new-movie-channels.html|author=Bill Carter|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|date=May 9, 1991|access-date=February 8, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO, Cinemax to Split Services into Three Channels Each |periodical=Broadcasting |page=33 |date=May 13, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO Releases Multiplex Schedule |periodical=Broadcasting |page=40 |date=August 5, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO: three channels are better than one|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-10807607.html|author=Jane Greenstein|periodical=Multichannel News|date=May 13, 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511211758/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-10807607.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO TO PACK IN MORE PROGRAMMING|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-05-09-9102110030-story.html|author=Kenneth R. Clark|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=May 9, 1991|access-date=May 15, 2020}}</ref> While most cable providers collectively offered the HBO and Cinemax multiplex channels in individual tiers, some providers had sold their secondary or tertiary channels as optional add-ons to expanded basic subscribers; this practice was discontinued when HBO and Cinemax began migrating to [[digital cable]] in the early 2000s, as the respective multiplex channels were being packaged in each tier mandatorily. In February 1996, in anticipation of the adoption of [[MPEG-2]] digital compression codecs that would allow cable providers to offer digital cable service, Home Box Office, Inc. announced plans to expand its multiplex services across HBO and Cinemax to twelve channels (counting [[time zone]]-based feeds), encompassing a fourth HBO channel and two additional Cinemax channels, originally projected for a Spring 1997 launch.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO divides to conquer |author=Rich Brown |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=49 |date=February 5, 1996}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=HBO divides to conquer |author=Rich Brown |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=50 |date=February 5, 1996}}</ref> The HBO multiplex expanded to include a fourth channel on December 1, 1996, with the launch of HBO Family, focusing on family-oriented feature films and television series aimed at younger children. (HBO Family's launch coincided with the launch of [[Mountain Time Zone]] feeds of HBO, HBO2, Cinemax, and Cinemax 2, which were the first sub-feeds ever offered by a subscription television service to specifically serve that time zone.)<ref name="HBO Family" /><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Pay services add value with multiplexing |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=70 |date=September 30, 1996}}</ref> Home Box Office, Inc. began marketing the HBO channel suite and related coastal feeds under the umbrella brand "MultiChannel HBO" in September 1994; the package was [[rebranding|rebranded]] as "HBO The Works", now exclusively classified to the four HBO multiplex channels (and later applied to the three thematic channels that were launched afterward), in April 1998. (The Cinemax tier was accordingly marketed as "MultiChannel Cinemax" and then "MultiMax" at the respective times.) Concurrent with the adoption of "The Works" package brand, two of the channels changed their names and formats: HBO2 was rebranded as HBO Plus, and HBO3 was relaunched as HBO Signature—incorporating content catering toward a female audience, alongside theatrical films aimed at broader audiences and content from HBO's original made-for-cable movie and documentary libraries. (HBO Plus would revert to the "HBO2" moniker in September 2002. The "HBO Plus" brand—modified in 2019 to "HBO+"—{{as of|2021|alt=remains in use}} on a multiplex channel of [[HBO Latin America]] featuring mainly theatrical movies previously carried on its parent feed; HBO Latin America also operates a separate channel sharing the "HBO2" name with the shared U.S. namesake of both services.)<ref name="HBO digital networks">{{cite magazine |title=HBO sets new digital networks |author=John M. Higgins |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=12 |date=April 13, 1998 |author-link=John M. Higgins}} {{subscription required |date=March 2015}}</ref> On May 6, 1999, the HBO multiplex expanded to include two new thematic channels: HBO Comedy—featuring comedic feature films, comedy series from HBO's original programming library, and recent and archived HBO comedy specials—and HBO Zone—aimed at young adults between the ages of 18 and 34, offering theatrical movies; comedy and alternative series, and documentaries from HBO's original programming library; and music videos.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hooked Up: HBO courts Gen X with laughs |author=Nolan Marchand |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=39 |date=May 3, 1999}}</ref> Rounding out the HBO multiplex expansion was HBO Latino, a Spanish language network launched on November 1, 2000, featuring a mix of dubbed simulcasts of programming from the primary HBO channel as well as exclusive Spanish-originated programs.<ref name="tw-hbolatinolaunch">{{cite press release|title=HBO to Launch New Spanish-Language Channel|url=https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2000/09/07/hbo-to-launch-new-spanish-language-channel|website=Time Warner|via=WarnerMedia Pressroom|date=September 7, 2000|access-date=June 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Latino Launch Is Pushed Back|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/hbo-latino-launch-pushed-back-159061|periodical=Multichannel News|date=September 17, 2000|access-date=June 30, 2020}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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