Launched March 1984 | Closed July 1989 | |
Owned by Maxwell Communications Corporation (25%), Goldcrest Films (25%), HBO (25%), Showtime (25%) | ||
Premiere (known as Prem1ere on air) was the first subscription movie channel that broadcast to Europe via satellite alongside the other European channels of that time, Sky Channel, Music Box and The Children's Channel.
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In addition to movies, the channel also showed children's television shows in an after school slot as fillers. The channel premiered Thundercats before the BBC1 launch and was also the first channel to show Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.
Due to losses of around £10 Million and increased competition from Sky Movies, Premiere closed in July 1989. The final film shown was Twice in a Lifetime, followed by a final announcement thanking the viewers as well as mentioned businesses that helped Premiere's transmission and a final ident to end broadcasting.
The Entertainment Network
The Entertainment Network (TEN) was launched on 29 March 1984 by Robert Maxwell. The station went bust within a year but was later re-launched as Mirrorvision.
Mirrorvision
Mirrorvision was a film channel from the stable of the Daily Mirror which launched on 2 June 1985.
On 1 April 1986 Mirrorvision and Premiere merged but continued to be called Premiere.
TVArk page: http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/otherchannels/premiere.html