Pay Television - Packaging

Packaging

Some providers offer channels owned by the same company in a single package. For example, American satellite provider DirecTV offers the Encore channels along with the Starz channels in its "Starz Super Pack"; and The Movie Channel, Flix and Sundance Channel (the latter of which continues to be sold in the DirecTV package despite Showtime Networks no longer owning Sundance, now owned by AMC Networks) along with Showtime in its "Showtime Unlimited" package. HBO in turn almost always packages Cinemax and its sister networks with HBO. Many pay television services offer multiplex services also sold with the main channel, that broadcast on a different schedule from the main channel often using a channel-specific formats containing genre-based programming (ex.; one channel may feature family-oriented programming, another may feature action films) or programming aimed at a specific target audience. In Canada, HBO Canada is included in two separate packages: The Movie Network package, as well as the Movie Central package (as the two services are split to serve Western Canada and Eastern Canada, respectively).

Though selling premium services that are related by ownership as a package is common, that may not always be the situation: for example, Canada's Family is generally sold independently from The Movie Network and The Movie Network Encore (all three networks are owned by Astral Media, though Family is distributed throughout the country unlike the TMN channels); The Movie Network Encore is also sold separately from The Movie Network (which spun off the channel in 1994) by some cable and satellite providers in Eastern Canada, though other providers offer both networks and their multiplex channels as a package.

Unlike other cable networks, premium services are almost always subscribed to a la carte cable television, meaning that one can, for example, subscribe to HBO without subscribing to Showtime (In Canada, there are slight modifications, as most providers include U.S. superstations with their main premium package by default). However, subscribing to an "individual" service automatically includes access to all of that service's available multiplex channels and, in some cases, access to content via video-on-demand. Most pay television providers also offer a selection of premium services (for example, the HBO, Showtime and Starz packages) in one bundle at a much reduced price than purchasing each service separately, as an inducement for subscribers to remain with their company or for others to induce subscribers into using their service.