HBO: Three Channels Are Better Than One
NEW YORK -- Gearing up for the "explosion of channels" while attempting to breathe life into the pay TV category, Home Box Office announced last week that it will "multiplex" HBO and Cinemax, with each service cablecast as multiple channels.
HBO chairman and CEO Michael Fuchs hailed the move at a press conference here as the "most dramatic development at HBO since it went up on the satellite" in 1975.
Initially, there will be three feeds of HBO and two of Cinemax, with the same monthly programming lineup time-shifted on multiple channels.
Testing in a handful of systems begins this summer, with a full-scale rollout planned for mid-to-late-1992 -- or whenever channel space allows.
"This is a direct response and reaction to the cable industry's request to add value to the category," Fuchs said. "This is the direction premium programming must go to compete in the new world."
HBO's action caused a stir in the industry last week, with Showtime confirming that it too was considering …