P age Ü 6
S eptember 2 5 , 1996 • T he P orti and O bserver
M ÌN O R ÌT y
ODiWIT
BET links with Encore Media Corp, to create first black movie channel
BET Holdings Inc. and En­
core Media Corp (EMC) have
joined forces to launch BET
Movies/STARZ! (BET Movies),
the first urban and black-oriented
movie channel devoted to show­
casing black film artists.
The BET Movies' venture was
announced by BET Chairman and
CEO Robert Johnson and EMC
Chairman and CEO John J. Sie a,
a joint press conference today.
The channel will launch in Feb­
ruary 1997, co in cid in g with
Black History Month.
At the press event, which fea­
tured leaders from some of the
country's top cable MSOs, John­
son and Sie said BET Movies
represents the creation of a ma­
jor brand dedicated to the devel­
opment and exhibition of black-
oriented feature length films.
Additionally, the venture will
provide access to the black film-
making com m unity and gain
wider recognition for this long
underserved public.
African American entertainers
from around the country ap­
plauded the announcement and
voiced their support of the new
service. Stars such as Eddie
M urphy, W hitney H ouston,
Denzel W ashington, W hoopi
G oldberg ("C o n g ra ts, BET!
You’re all that and a bag of pop­
corn!), Alfre Woodard, Samuel
L.Jackson, Laurence Fishburne,
Jada Pinkett, Vanessa Williams,
Morgan Freeman, Will Smith,
Lena Horne, Gregory Hines (“I
can’t wait to watch, and will en­
courage all of my friends to do
the same.”), Robert Townsend,
Forest Whitaker, Tim and Daphne
Reid, writer Terry M cM illan
(“Finally!” ), Charles Dutton,
filmmakers Spike Lee (“Long,
long overdue"), John Singleton,
Bill D uke, W arrin g to n and
Reginald Hudlin, Matty Rich,
Melvin Van Peebles, George
Jackson, and Doug McHenry
have all come together to lend
their names in favor of this
project.
“With EMC as the nation’s
leading provider of movie chan­
nels, and BET’s brand reach into
more than 46 million homes, the
appeal of this service to cable
operators, satellite providers and
black consumers promises to be
phenom enal," said Johnson.
“This new service will also pro­
vide a unique outlet for the inde­
pendent black film industry.”
“This venture capitalizes on
BET’s position as the recognized
leader in television programming
for blacks and clears the way for
STARZ! and BET Movies to be­
come “must-have" movie chan­
nels in urban centers,” said Sie.
“ BET Movies is not just another
movie channel
— it’s a service to the black
community. Its purpose is to
create a showcase for films that
feature black creative talent and
show case cu ltu ral them es,
lifestyles and interests. BET
Movies will truly be the destina­
tion channel in black house­
holds.”
In addition, the combination
of STARZ! and BET Movies will
expand pay TV households in
urban markets. Sie and Johnson
said two facts demonstrate the
need forlhischannel: Black con­
sumers arc great fans of televi­
sion and avid moviegoers. Sic
and Johnson offered statistics that
indicate blacks view television
programming 50 percent more
than non-blacks, and also account
for 50-100 percent more movie­
going dollars than non-blacks.
(Source: TV Viewing Among
Blacks, JBK&F. Media Group, 2/
96).
BET Movies will benefit from
STARZ!’s long-term output deals
with Hollywood's biggest studios
— including Miramax, Univer­
sal, Touchstone, Hollywood Pic­
tures and New Line — for exclu­
sive first-run theatrical releases.
In addition to the best first-run
movie selections, BET Movies
will draw upon ENCORE’S ex­
tensive library of over 6,000 mov­
ies amongst them many landmark
black films. Below is an over­
view of programming viewers can
expect from BET Movies:
Seven, Pulp Fiction and Fresh, A
Good Man in Africa, Major Payne,
Corrina, Corrina, How to Make an
American Quilt, Clockers.To Wong
Foo..., The Crying Game.
Unique and classic films, such
as To Sir with Love, Do The
RightThing, Mississippi Masala,
Autobiography of Miss Jane Pit­
man, Women of Brewster Place
and Cry Freedom.
Founded in 1980, BET is
owned by BET Holdings Inc., a
m edia-entertainm ent company
com m itted to maximizing its
value to shareholders, clients and
employers, and to establishing
BET as the most-valued con­
sumer brand within the Black
marketplace. BET H oldings’
core business is Black Entertain­
ment Television Inc., an adver­
tiser-supported, basic cable tele­
vision program m ing service
launched in January 1980, that
serves as both an entertainment
and information source for Afri­
can Americans. The BET Cable
Network airs a variety of music
video shows, as well as origi­
nally-produced and syndicated
programming, 24-hours a day to
more than 46.4 million cable
households. BET Holdings Inc.
also owns and operates BET On
Jazz: The Cable Jazz Channel,
Action Pay-Per-View, BET On
Jazz International, BET Direct -
its direct marketing arm, as well
as three p u b lications, YSB,
Emerge and BET Weekend.
EMC is the largest provider of
cable and satellite-delivered tele­
vision channels in the U.S., cur
rently counting more than 25
million pay units through its own­
ership of ENCORE! R)< an afford
able premium service featuring
hit movies of the ‘60s, ‘70s and
‘80s as well as plex, theme by
day (combined over 10 million
pay units); six Thematic Multi­
plex services — Love Stories-
encore 2(R), W esterns-encore
3(R), Mystery-encore 4(R), Ac­
tion-encore 5(SM), True Stories
& D ram a-encore 6(R ), and
WAM! America’s Kidz Network-
encore 7(R) (combined theme
channels have over 10 million
pay units); STARZ!-encore 8(R),
the first-run premium multiplex
movie service (over 4.5 million
pay units). In addition, EMC’s
International Channel(SM)offers
multi-lingual basic cable pro­
gramming in 26 different Asian,
European, and Middle Eastern
languages to 7 million subscrib­
ers in the U.S. and Latin America.
EMC's latest service, STARZ!-
encore 8(SM), featuring “prime
time any tim e,” was launched
March 15, 1996.
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