EDMONTON – Canada’s newest pay TV service has reached into the past for its branding and will launch October 19, Allarco Entertainment announced today.
Superchannel has signed a long-term pay television agreement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios to air the Hollywood studio’s latest feature films, original movies and television series from MGM and United Artists.
Set to launch on October 19, Superchannel will offer viewers the entire Rocky catalogue in high definition, including Rocky Balboa, the sixth and final installment of the franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. The studio’s recent releases such as Flyboys, Home of Brave and Material Girls will also be available on the network.
Superchannel will be Canada’s only national pay television network (Astral Media’s The Movie Network serves the east and Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central the west) and consist of two new HD channels, four new SD channels, and an SVOD platform. “Superchannel’s vision is to reinvent pay TV in Canada by offering viewers something new to see every single day,” says the company’s press release.
Superchannel was one of the original Canadian pay channels to launch in the 1980s and was owned and operated by Allarco.
The company did not announce any other output or carriage deals today and both Astral and Corus have been signing long term deals with studios all through this year in order to protect their own libraries, so it will be interesting to see what additional content the Allard-family-owned Superchannel comes to market with.
“MGM’s commitment and long history of providing high-quality entertainment is an excellent example of the level of programming viewers will be able to experience on Superchannel,” said Sandy Perkins, Superchannel’s vice-president of programming, in the company’s press release. “This agreement is the first of many announcements leading up to our national launch.”
“It’s exciting for us to be working with Allarco Entertainment,” added Susan Hummel, senior vice-president, North American Television Distribution, MGM, in the same release. “We look forward to the launch of Superchannel and are pleased to offer Canadian viewers our exciting new slate of films and classic titles from our award-winning library
Viewers will be able to see the entire “Species” franchise in HD, including the latest installment “Species: The Awakening.” Superchannel will also air the exclusive Canadian premiere of “War Games II” in November, and “Dead Like Me,” a new movie based on the Showtime series. The MGM and Allarco relationship will also include several upcoming MGM television series releases, including “Spaceballs: The Animated Series,” “Pink Panther and Pals,” and “Barbershop: The Series.”
www.superchannel.ca
www.mgm.com
