Home Theater Network (HTN) was an American premium cable television network that was owned by Group W Satellite Communications . Targeted at a family audience, the channel focused primarily on theatrically released motion pictures , along with travel interstitials that aired between select films.
11-469: Home Theater Network launched on September 1, 1978. Originally owned by Diversified Communications , the service was later sold off a majority share to Westinghouse Broadcasting in 1980. The service operated initially for four hours a day, and later expanded its schedule to 12 hours a day; HTN was notable for airing non-exclusive G and PG-rated films (prior to 1984, when the PG-13 rating was first introduced by
22-521: A presence in India with the acquisition of Infocast. On July 15, 2014, the contracts that Diversified Communications had with Dish Network expired. Among the issues Diversified cited included financial terms, customer service issues between the station and Dish Network, and, in Bangor, viewership changes on Dish's part in several counties to another CBS station on account of DMA location (including WGME in
33-404: A result, HTN featured Disney fare such as Freaky Friday , Snowball Express , Pete's Dragon , Bedknobs and Broomsticks and The North Avenue Irregulars . Other films that HTN featured included Xanadu and The Private Eyes . In addition, the channel showcased travel-related programming as filler between films, billing these segments as " The Travel Channel ". In 1981, the service
44-771: The Motion Picture Association of America ). The channel boasted a policy of not running R-rated feature films (predating the launch of family-oriented multiplex services by HBO and Showtime that also omitted R-rated films from their schedules), and marketed itself as a lower-priced alternative to HBO, Cinemax , Showtime (which Group W later owned in part, making HTN a de facto sister network to Showtime from 1982, when it acquired TelePrompTer Corporation , to 1983) and The Movie Channel . Prior to The Disney Channel 's April 1983 launch, Walt Disney Pictures licensed select live-action films to many premium cable networks (including HBO, Showtime and Spotlight); as
55-931: The Portland area). After a breakdown on contract talks, which picked up slowly, an agreement was reached on October 8, 2014, allowing both stations to return to Dish Network later that day. On February 16, 2017, it was announced that WABI-TV and sister station WCJB-TV in Gainesville, Florida would be sold to Gray Television for $ 85 million, pending FCC approval. It will make WCJB a sister station to WCTV (Gray Television's then- flagship station) in Tallahassee and WJHG-TV and WECP-LD in Panama City , while reuniting WABI-TV with WAGM-TV (which Gray acquired two years prior) in Presque Isle, Maine . The sale
66-407: The acquisition of Australia Exhibition Services in 2000, the formation of DBC Canada and the acquisition of UK-based Full Moon Communications in 2002. In 2004 it began to co-produce Kosherfest , a two-day trade show for the kosher-certified until it was discontinued after its last show in 2022. In 2009, Diversified expanded into Hong Kong with the acquisition of Asia Business Events and established
77-736: The network, citing a lack of subscriber growth despite a positive cash flow. Home Theater Network shut down on January 31, 1987, and Group W sold the transponder slot on Satcom 3-R and the "Travel Channel" name to Trans World Airlines to launch the present-day basic cable channel, now known as the Travel Channel. Diversified Communications Diversified Communications is a multimedia company, headquartered in Portland, Maine . The company provides market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, digital products and publications. Diversified
88-496: Was also the original owner of Home Theater Network , until Westinghouse Broadcasting bought out a majority stake in the company in 1980. Throughout the 1980s, Diversified expanded its publishing and trade show business with products in the commercial marine and seafood industries. In 1993, it expanded internationally with the European Seafood Exposition. Diversified continued its international growth with
99-418: Was completed on May 1, 2017. Today, Diversified operates trade fairs on four continents, produces trade publications, and owns several digital businesses. SPAR Point Group, which focuses on the 3D imaging technologies sector, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Diversified. Stations arranged alphabetically by state and by city of license . Kosherfest Too Many Requests If you report this error to
110-642: Was expanded with the launch of HTN Plus, which was due to air four feature films daily in order to make up for the 12-hour expansion of the service. From 1984 to 1985, Home Theater Network aired a live 90-minute call-in trivia program called Movie Talk America , in a Thursday primetime timeslot that was typically used to broadcast feature films. Hosted by Earle Ziff, the popular program would feature live calls from viewers as they competed for various prizes, as well as celebrity interviews and promotions for upcoming programs to be seen on HTN. In October 1986, Group W Satellite Communications announced that it would shut down
121-582: Was founded in 1949 when Horace A. Hildreth , the former governor of Maine , president of Bucknell University and U.S. ambassador to Pakistan , purchased Community Broadcasting Service, owner of Maine's oldest radio station, WABI in Bangor . In 1953, he launched Maine's first TV station, WABI-TV in Bangor. In 1970, Diversified entered the publishing and trade show business with the acquisition of National Fisherman and FISH EXPO Boston. In 1972, it formed New England Cablevision which it sold in 2000. The company
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