Cinema channel

Cinecanal is a Latin American subscription television channel, it began broadcasting on April 1, 1993. It is owned by The Walt Disney Company Latin America and operated by Disney Media Networks Latin America.

History

On August 10, 1992, MVS Comunicaciones signed an agreement with United International Pictures (distributor of Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and MGM/UA feature films), 20th Century Fox, Cisneros Organization (through the holding company Cablecinema C.A.) and the Argentine Sociedad Argentina de Cable, S.A. (SACSA), for the founding of a joint company with the objective of creating a channel with Latin American coverage, which would exclusively broadcast first-run films. The original investment was US$5,000,000, although the amount of participation of each entity involved was not disclosed. The company was founded as LAPTV.

Cinecanal began operations on April 1, 1993 as a premium channel transmitting through MVS (Multivision) in Mexico City. The signal was received with great enthusiasm, and after two months of operation it began transmitting to Central America, the Dominican Republic and South America. Originally, it transmitted two channels from Multivisión's headquarters in Mexico City via the Morelos satellite network to North, Central America and the Caribbean and via Panamsat to South America (eastern signal, based on the Mexico City time zone, and western signal, based on Buenos Aires time). In total, the channel had about 4,500,000 subscribers at the end of 1994.

On April 21, 1995, after the Mexican economic crisis of 1994, the Cisneros Organization and MVS Comunicaciones sold the shares to United International Pictures because LAPTV, the company in charge of operating the channel, was dragging enormous economic losses to despite the fact that the channel had only been on the air for two years. The following year, the company moved its headquarters to Atlanta. Shortly after, the company's second channel, Cinecanal 2, was launched.

On March 15, 1998, LAPTV signed an agreement with DreamWorks SKG to broadcast its premiere feature films for television. In 2000, MGM changed the way it distributed its films abroad and ceased to be a sister company of UIP, and in November 2000, it sold its shares to 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Pictures.

On July 23, 2007, SACSA sold the shares to Fox Latin American Channels and two years later, Universal Studios sold its stake to Fox.

Since November 1, 2009, Cinecanal became a basic channel on Latin American television operators. On October 1, 2010, Cinecanal renewed its corporate image to further accommodate the signal as a basic subscription channel. Commercial breaks and promotions during the broadcast of movies were also added.

Since June 1, 2011, Cinecanal has been transmitting all of its programming dubbed into Spanish, in order to reach a new segment of viewers. In addition, a new signal based in Chile was launched, called the Pacific signal.

On April 1, 2022, Cinecanal arrives for the first time in Brazil, a country it had not originally reached, where it replaced the local Star Life signal that ceased its broadcasts along with FXM, Disney XD, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Kids.

Signs

The channel structure is made up of 4 regionalized signals, which are broadcast in high definition natively simultaneously with the standard resolution signal.

• Signal Mexico: exclusive sign for this country. Its schedule corresponds to that of Mexico City (UTC-6) In addition, it shows age ratings.
• Panregional signal: issued for Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean. Its reference schedule corresponds to that of Bogotá (UTC-5).
• Signal Pacific: issued for Chile, Peru and Bolivia. Its reference time corresponds to that of Santiago (UTC-4/-3 DST).
• Southern signal: issued for Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Its schedule corresponds to that of Buenos Aires (UTC-3).
• Signal Brazil: Exclusive sign for Brazil, in Portuguese. Its schedule corresponds to that of Brasilia (UTC-3). He replaced Star Life from April 1, 2022 in that country.

Availability Notes

• In Venezuela, the Inter Satellite provider distributes the Pacific signal of the channel instead of the local signal.
• In Movistar TV Peru, on the cable platform the Pacific signal is distributed as a standard channel, while the Venezuela signal is offered as the HD channel.
• In South America, the DirecTV feed distributes the Panregional signal in HD, while the SD signals are different depending on the country's geographical location: for Argentina the South signal is distributed and for Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela the distributed signal is the Panregional signal.
  • Directv GO transmits the signal corresponding to the geographical area from which it is being seen.
• In Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Paraguay, until February 2019, Claro TV's satellite service distributed the Panregional Signal (which it offered as a sign in HD) in its original language with subtitles to Spanish and without the SAP option. However, thanks to a change by the operator, the Panregional Signature was launched in Spanish, although English continues to be the main audio and Spanish is the secondary audio.
• In Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay, the satellite service of Claro TV used to distribute the Pacific Signature on its SD signal and the Panregional Signature on its HD signal until March 2020, when the SD signal made simultaneous connection with the HD signal to transmit in both the Panregional Signature.
• In Peru, Chile and Venezuela, Movistar TV used to offer films in their original language with subtitles to Spanish and without the SAP option in their satellite service, but since January 2022, it began broadcasting in Spanish, although on screen you can still see subtitles.
• In Colombia, Movistar TV offers films bent to Spanish and with the SAP option in its satellite service and in its Fibra service.
• In Peru, Movistar TV in its satellite service offers films in its original language with subtitles to Spanish and without the SAP option, while in its cable service, it offers films bent to Spanish, until January 2022 when the satellite service of Movistar TV began to broadcast the films in Spanish, but on screen you can still watch the subtitles.
• In Panama, the Tigo cable operator in the satellite service version distributes the Pacific signal instead of the Panregional signal.

High definition signal

On May 1, 2010, LAPTV launched Cinecanal HD, a high definition channel broadcast throughout the region without a live connection with signals in standard resolution. Unlike the other signals, the HD signal offered original language movie programming with a second Spanish audio track and an optional Spanish subtitle track. In January 2013, it changed its name to Cinecanal Plus, to differentiate itself from the rest of the SD signals. In December 2015, it was renamed Cinecanal HD again. As of 2017, the independent signal ceases to exist and all regionalized signals are broadcast natively in high definition autonomously.

Other notes

In the Southern Signal, films for those over 13 or 16 years of age are edited for broadcast within the schedule for all audiences, in relation to the Audiovisual Media Law in Argentina, in addition to Law No. 23,052 and presented to the INCAA for re-qualification. Contains time identifiers for all audiences based on the Buenos Aires time zone.

Other signs

Cinecanal Classics

Cinecanal Classics was a television channel of the LAPTV signal group launched on November 1, 2004. It broadcast classic films owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox produced between the 1930s and 1960s. The programming did not have commercial breaks and was broadcast in English with Spanish subtitles. It was relaunched on November 1, 2009 as Citystars, as part of a re-signaling of the then newly formed Moviecity Pack. Their slogan was The Hollywood you don't know. Later, it was renamed as Moviecity Classics, then as Fox Classics with the slogan More Memories, then as Fox Premium Classics and finally as Star Classics.

Cinecanal 2

Cinecanal 2 was a channel created on June 1, 1997 as part of the Moviecity premium package. It broadcast the same programming as Cinecanal along with Dreamworks productions. It did not have commercial breaks and had alternative programming to the main channel so that it did not repeat films already broadcast. It was renamed as City Mix, later renamed Moviecity Hollywood, then as Fox Movies with the slogan More Stars, then as Fox Premium Movies and finally as Star Hits.