HBO Canada - History

History

On September 22, 2008, TMN and Movie Central announced they would jointly begin offering a dedicated HBO multiplex channel (in both standard definition and high definition formats) on October 30. For TMN subscribers, HBO Canada replaced MMore and MMore HD, while for Movie Central subscribers, HBO Canada replaced Movie Central 4 and Movie Central 1 HD.

Although some HBO programming already aired in Canada on pay services such as TMN and Movie Central and/or basic-cable specialty channels such as Showcase, many other programs from the network were not previously widely available in Canada, and the new channel was intended to fill the gap. Original programming from HBO's sister service Cinemax has also been broadcast from time to time. Some HBO series already carried by TMN or Movie Central were initially simulcast on their respective main channels, but HBO programming now airs almost exclusively on HBO Canada, as opposed to any of the other TMN / Movie Central multiplex channels.

A selection of Canadian films and series also airs to satisfy Canadian content requirements, and from time to time programs from other U.S. sources to which TMN and Movie Central both own rights (such as Showtime) may air as well. However, few non-Canadian theatrically-released movies air on the channel, even when those movies air on HBO's main channel in the United States.

Unlike the other multiplex channels offered by TMN and Movie Central, the two timeshifted HBO Canada feeds (East/West), in both standard-definition and high-definition, are available nationally to those television providers who wish to carry them. The Movie Network and some service providers primarily serving Eastern Canada refer to the West feed as HBO Canada 2 on their websites; other service providers simply distinguish them as East or West feeds (Movie Central's website does not discuss the Eastern feed).