Home Theater Network (HTN) was an American

premium cable Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

that was owned by Group W Satellite Communications. Targeted at a family audience, the channel focused primarily on theatrically released motion pictures, along with travel interstitials that aired between select films.

History

Home Theater Network launched on September 1, 1978. The service operated initially for four hours a day, and later expanded its schedule to 12 hours a day; HTN was notable for airing non-exclusive G and PG-rated films (prior to 1984, when the PG-13 rating was first introduced by the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

). The channel boasted a policy of not running R-rated feature films (predating the launch of family-oriented multiplex services by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

and

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

that also omitted R-rated films from their schedules), and marketed itself as a lower-priced alternative to HBO,

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent net ...

, Showtime (which Group W later owned in part, making HTN a ''de facto'' sister network to Showtime from 1982, when it acquired

TelePrompTer Corporation __notoc__ TelePrompTer Corporation was an American media company that existed from approximately 1950 until 1981. The company was named for its eponymous primary product, a display device invented by Hubert Schlafly which scrolls text to people on ...

, to 1983) and

The Movie Channel The Movie Channel (TMC) is an American premium television network owned by Showtime Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global operated through its Media Networks unit. The network's programming mainly features first-run theatrically released ...

. Prior to

The Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

's April 1983 launch,

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...

licensed select live-action films to many premium cable networks (including HBO, Showtime and Spotlight); as a result, HTN featured Disney fare such as ''

Freaky Friday ''Freaky Friday'' is a comedic children's novel written by Mary Rodgers, first published by Harper & Row in 1972. It has been adapted for several films, including versions in 1976, 1995, 2003, and 2018, and was reinterpreted as a horror film f ...

'', ''

Snowball Express ''Snowball Express'' is a 1972 American screwball comedy film produced by Ron Miller and Tom Leetch and directed by Norman Tokar. The film is about a man who leaves his middle class job to run a hotel left to him by his great uncle. Plot Johnn ...

'', '' Pete's Dragon'', ''

Bedknobs and Broomsticks ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' is a 1971 American live-action animated musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Bill Walsh for Walt Disney Productions. It is loosely based upon the books '' The Magic Bedknob; or, How to B ...

'' and ''

The North Avenue Irregulars ''The North Avenue Irregulars'' is a 1979 American comedy crime film produced by Walt Disney Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company, and starring Edward Herrmann, Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine and Susan Clark. Don Tait ...

''. Other films that HTN featured included '' Xanadu'' and '' The Private Eyes''. In addition, the channel showcased travel-related programming as filler between films, billing these segments as "

The Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

". From 1984 to 1985, Home Theater Network aired a live 90-minute call-in trivia program called ''Movie Talk America'', in a Thursday primetime timeslot that was typically used to broadcast feature films. Hosted by Earle Ziff, the popular program would feature live calls from viewers as they competed for various prizes, as well as celebrity interviews and promotions for upcoming programs to be seen on HTN. In October 1986, Group W Satellite Communications announced that it would shut down the network, citing a lack of subscriber growth despite a positive cash flow. Home Theater Network shut down on January 31, 1987, and Group W sold the transponder slot on Satcom 3-R and the "Travel Channel" name to

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

to launch the present-day basic cable channel now known as the Travel Channel. - dead link

References

{{U.S. premium television services (defunct) Defunct television networks in the United States Television channels and stations established in 1978 Television channels and stations disestablished in 1987 1978 establishments in Maine 1987 disestablishments in Maine Commercial-free television networks Movie channels Westinghouse Broadcasting

History

See also

References