Turner Classic Movies

In 1986, eight years before the launch of Turner Classic Movies, Ted Turner acquired the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio for $1.5 billion. Concerns over Turner Entertainment's corporate debt load resulted in Turner selling the studio that October back to Kirk Kerkorian, from whom Turner had purchased the studio less than a year before.[1]

As part of the deal, Turner Entertainment retained ownership of MGM's library of films released up to May 9, 1986. Turner Broadcasting System was split into two companies; Turner Broadcasting System and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and reincorporated as MGM/UA Communications Co.

The film library of Turner Entertainment would serve as the base form of programming for TCM upon the network's launch. Before the creation of Turner Classic Movies, films from Turner's library of movies aired on the Turner Broadcasting System's advertiser-supported cable network TNT – along with colorized versions of black-and-white classics such as The Maltese Falcon.

In May 2009, host Robert Osborne and Charles Tabesh, senior vice president for programming, accepted TCM's Institutional Peabody Award "for a continuing, powerful commitment to a central concept—the place of film in social and cultural experience".[2]

Turner Classic Movies debuted on April 14, 1994, at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, with Ted Turner launching the channel at a ceremony in New York City's Times Square district.[3][4] The date and time were chosen for their historical significance as "the exact centennial anniversary of the first public movie showing in New York City". The first movie broadcast on TCM was the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, the same film that served as the debut broadcast of its sister channel TNT six years earlier in October 1988.[5] At the time of its launch, TCM was available to approximately one million cable television subscribers.[6]

The network originally served as a competitor to AMC—which at the time was known as "American Movie Classics" and maintained a virtually identical format to TCM, as both networks largely focused on films released prior to 1970 and aired them in an uncut, uncolorized, and commercial-free format. AMC had broadened its film content to feature colorized and more recent films by 2002.

In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner which, besides placing Turner Classic Movies and Warner Bros. Entertainment under the same corporate umbrella, also gave TCM access to Warner Bros.' library of films released after 1950 (which itself includes other acquired entities such as the Lorimar, Saul Zaentz and National General Pictures libraries); incidentally, TCM had already been running select Warner Bros. film titles through a licensing agreement with the studio that was signed prior to the launch of the channel.[7]

In the early 2000s, AMC abandoned its commercial-free format, which then led to TCM being the only movie-oriented basic cable channel to devote its programming entirely to classic films without commercial interruption or content editing.

On March 4, 2019, Time Warner's new owner AT&T (who renamed the company WarnerMedia) announced a planned reorganization that would dissolve Turner Broadcasting. TCM, along with Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and over-the-top video company Otter Media, will be moved directly under Warner Bros. (the remaining Turner networks will be divided into WarnerMedia Entertainment and WarnerMedia News & Sports divisions). Speaking about the move, then-Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara explained that TCM was "a natural fit with Warner Bros." due to the company's massive film library.[8][9]

In 2000, TCM started the annual Young Composers Film Competition, inviting aspiring composers to participate in a judged competition that offers the winner of each year's competition the opportunity to score a restored, feature-length silent film as a grand prize, mentored by a well-known composer, with the new work subsequently premiering on the network. As of 2006, films that have been rescored include the 1921 Rudolph Valentino film Camille, two Lon Chaney films: 1921's The Ace of Hearts and 1928's Laugh, Clown, Laugh, and Greta Garbo's 1926 film The Temptress.

In April 2010, Turner Classic Movies held the first TCM Classic Film Festival, an event—now held annually—at the Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Initially hosted by Robert Osborne, the four-day long annual festival celebrates Hollywood and its movies, and featured celebrity appearances, special events, and screenings of around 50 classic movies including several newly restored by The Film Foundation, an organization devoted to preserving Hollywood's classic film legacy.[10] The festival was postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

TCM publishes Now Playing, a monthly guide, originally available through a standalone subscription, which provides daily listings and descriptions for films scheduled to air on Turner Classic Movies in the coming month. The digest-size magazine highlights a featured actor on the cover, and features essays about the "guest programmer" as well as a movie-and-actor themed crossword puzzle. The May 2017 issue, following the death in March 2017 of host Robert Osborne, contained "Remembering Robert Osborne" by Ben Mankiewicz.[12] TCM ceased print publication of Now Playing (which had been one of the few channel-specific program guides that remained in print circulation for most of the 2000s and 2010s) with the August 2017 issue, moving it to an electronic format available via email free of charge.[13]

During the prime time hours, an ident for the "Watch TCM" app is shown after every movie.

TCM's library of films spans several decades of cinema and includes thousands of film titles. Besides broadcasting films owned or licensed by Warner Bros., Turner Classic Movies also licenses films from Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures,[14] The Walt Disney Company (including film content from 20th Century Studios,[15] as well as most of the Selznick International Pictures library[16]), Sony Pictures Entertainment (primarily film content from Columbia Pictures), StudioCanal, and Janus Films.

Also, TCM has aired movies from the 1900s through the 1920s. Although most movies shown on TCM are releases from the 1930s to the 1960s, some are more contemporary – Turner Classic Movies sometimes airs films from the 1970s and 1980s, and occasionally broadcasts movies released during the 1990s and the early 2000s.

TCM prime time host Robert Osborne at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards (May 2014)

Most feature movies shown during the prime time and early overnight hours (8:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time) were presented by film historian Robert Osborne (who had been with the network since its 1994 launch until 2016, except for a five-month medical leave from July to December 2011, when guest hosts presented each night's films),[17] Ben Mankiewicz presenting primetime films on Wednesday through Sunday evenings, Jacqueline Stewart presenting "Silent Sunday Nights" on Sundays, Tiffany Vasquez presented the films on Saturday afternoons from 2016 to 2018 when Dave Karger began presenting Saturday afternoons and the primetime films on Mondays, and Alicia Malone presenting the films on Sunday afternoons, the primetime films on Tuesdays and "TCM Imports" on Sundays.

TCM regularly airs a "Star of the Month" throughout the year in which most, if not all, feature films from a film star are shown during that night's schedule. February and August are the only months to not have a "Star of the Month" due to special programming months. The network also marks the occurrence of a film actor's birthday (either antemortem or posthumously) or recent death with day- or evening-long festivals showcasing several of that artist's best, earliest or least-known pictures; by effect, marathons scheduled in honor of an actor's passing (which are scheduled within a month after their death) pre-empt films originally scheduled to air on that date. TCM also features a monthly program block called the "TCM Guest Programmer", in which the host is joined by celebrity guests responsible for choosing that evening's films (examples of such programmers during 2012 include Jules Feiffer, Anthony Bourdain, Debra Winger, Ellen Barkin, Spike Lee, Regis Philbin and Jim Lehrer);[18] an offshoot of this block featuring Turner Classic Movies employees aired during February 2011.

The Essentials, with various hosts since 2001, is a weekly film showcase airing on Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time which spotlights a culturally significant movie and contains a special introduction and post-movie discussion.

One of the weekly blocks is "Noir Alley", featuring film noir movies. It broadcasts on Saturday evenings and repeats on Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time and is hosted by Eddie Muller. The channel also broadcasts two movie blocks during the late evening hours each Sunday: "Silent Sunday Nights", which features silent films from the United States and abroad, usually in the latest restored version and often with new musical scores, and hosted by Jacqueline Stewart; and "TCM Imports" (which previously ran on Saturdays until the early 2000s), a weekly presentation of films originally released in foreign countries and hosted by Alicia Malone. TCM Underground – which debuted in October 2006 – as Saturday late night block which focuses on cult films, the block was originally hosted by rocker/filmmaker Rob Zombie until December 2006 (though as of 2014, it is the only regular film presentation block on the channel that does not have a host). TCM Underground recently changed its timeslot - it now airs early Saturday mornings at 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Turner Classic Movies suspends its regular schedule twice each year for a special month of film marathons. 31 Days of Oscar is a programming block aired each Oscar season by the U.S. and Asian Turner Classic Movies cable networks during the month of the Academy Awards.[19] Each feature that TCM airs in this block can be either an Oscar winner or nominee.

Another is called "Summer Under the Stars", aired during August which features entire daily schedules devoted to the work of a particular actor, with movies and specials that pertain to the star of the day. In the summer of 2007, the channel debuted "Funday Night at the Movies", a block hosted by actor Tom Kenny (best known as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants). This summer block featured classic feature films (such as The Wizard of Oz, Sounder, Bringing Up Baby, Singin' in the Rain, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) aimed at introducing these movies to new generations of children, and their families.

"Funday Night at the Movies" was replaced in 2008 by "Essentials Jr.", a youth-oriented version of its weekly series, The Essentials (originally hosted by actors Abigail Breslin, and Chris O'Donnell, then by John Lithgow from 2009 to 2011, and then by Bill Hader, starting with the 2011 season), which included such family-themed films as National Velvet, Captains Courageous, and Yours, Mine and Ours, as well as more eclectic selections, such as Sherlock Jr., The Music Box, Harvey, Mutiny on the Bounty, and The Man Who Knew Too Much.

In 2014, the channel debuted "Treasures from the Disney Vault", hosted by Leonard Maltin. This block showcased a compilation of vintage Disney feature films, cartoons, documentaries, episodes of the Walt Disney anthology television series, and episodes of The Mickey Mouse Club. The last scheduled "Treasures from the Disney Vault" aired on September 2, 2019.[20][21][22][23]

In addition to films, Turner Classic Movies also airs original content, mostly documentaries about classic movie personalities, the world of filmmaking and particularly notable films. An occasional month-long series, Race and Hollywood, showcases films by and about people of non-white races, featuring discussions of how these pictures influenced white people's image of said races, as well as how people of those races viewed themselves. Previous installments have included "Asian Images on Film" in 2008,[24] "Native American Images on Film" in 2010,[25] "Black Images on Film" in 2006[26] "Latino Images on Film" in 2009[27] and "Arab Images on Film" in 2011.[28] The network aired the film series Screened Out (which explored the history and depiction of homosexuality in film) in 2007 and Religion on Film (focusing on the role of religion in cinematic works) in 2005. In 2011, TCM debuted a new series entitled AFI's Master Class: The Art of Collaboration.[29][30]

In December 1994, TCM debuted "TCM Remembers", a tribute to recently deceased film personalities (including actors, producers, composers, directors, writers, and cinematographers) which occasionally airs during promotional breaks between films. The segments appear in two forms: individual tributes and a longer end-of-year compilation. Following the recent death of an especially famous classic film personality (usually an actor or director), the segment will feature a montage of select shots of the deceased's work.

Every December, a longer, more inclusive "TCM Remembers" interstitial is produced, featuring a selection of audio and video clips interspersed with scenes from settings such as an abandoned drive-in (2012) or a theatre which is closing down (2013). Since 2001, most of the soundtracks for these have been introspective melodies by indie artists such as Badly Drawn Boy (2007) or Steve Earle (2009).[31] 2015's song, "Quickly Now", was written especially for TCM Remembers by Chuck Moore and Reid Hall, and sung by Eryn McHugh.[32]

The TCM Vault Collection consists of several different DVD collections of rare classic films that have been licensed, remastered and released by Turner Classic Movies (through corporate sister Warner Home Video). These boxed set releases are of films by notable actors, directors or studios that were previously unreleased on DVD or VHS. The sets often include bonus discs including documentaries and shorts from the TCM library. The initial batch of DVDs are printed in limited quantities and subsequent batches are made-on-demand (MOD).

• Universal Collection – Featuring films licensed by TCM from the Universal Studios vault.
• The Lost RKO Collection – Featuring RKO films from the 1930s.
• TCM Spotlight – A series of DVD boxsets released by Warner Home Video featuring Charlie Chan and stars such as Esther Williams, Errol Flynn, Jean Arthur, Deanna Durbin, and Doris Day.

In October 2015, TCM announced the launch of the TCM Wineclub, in which they teamed up with Laithwaite to provide a line of mail-order wines from famous vineyards such as famed writer-director-producer Francis Ford Coppola's winery. Wines are available in 3-month subscriptions and can be selected as reds, whites, or a mixture of both. From the wines chosen, TCM also includes recommended movies to watch with each, such as a "True Grit" wine, to be paired with the John Wayne film of the same name.[34]