Premiere (also known as PREM1ERE on air), launched on 1 September 1984. It was the first subscription movie channel that broadcast to Europe via satellite alongside the other services of that time including Sky Channel, Music Box and The Children's Channel.

History

The Entertainment Network

The Entertainment Network – also known as TEN and The Movie Channel – launched in the UK on 29 March 1984 by Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor Robert Maxwell. It was jointly owned by UIP Pay TV Group (MGM/UA, Paramount and MCA/Universal), Visionhire, Plessey and The Rank Organisation. It was developed in-house by Rediffusion Cablevision and was available exclusively as part of their fledgling cable service.

The station went bust in June 1985, ending its transmission at midnight on Tuesday, 4 June 1985.^[2] It was re-launched the following afternoon, once again by Robert Maxwell, under the moniker MirrorVision.

MirrorVision

MirrorVision was a film channel from the stable of the Daily Mirror launched on Wednesday, 5 June 1985.^[3] It lasted less than ten months before merging with Premiere on 1 April 1986.^[4]

Star Channel

Star Channel was started by British Telecom in August 1986 as an alternative film service which broadcasts between 6.30pm and 2.00am, it has been distributed to several cable operators on videotape form rather than by satellite.

Discussions on a merger between the film services were begun and concluded with Premiere, Star Channel and Home Video Channel all now being programmed within a reconstructed partnership but the channel continued as a separate service for the time being.

In July 1987, the expected closure of Star Channel took place following its merger with Premiere, thereby reducing the remaining film services to include Bravo and Home Video Channel.

Demise

Due to losses of around £10 million and increased competition from Sky Movies, Premiere closed on 31 July 1989. The final film shown was 1985's Twice in a Lifetime, followed by a final announcement thanking the viewers as well as a few businesses that helped with Premiere's transmission.

Programming

In addition to movies, the service also showed children's television programmes in an after school slot as fillers. The channel premiered ThunderCats before the BBC1 launch, and Premiere was also the first channel to show Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.