Unlike HBO ( and most cable and over-the-air broadcast channels already on the air at the time it launched ), Cinemax broadcast 24 hours a day from the day it signed on the air ( HBO had only broadcast about nine hours of programming a day from 3 p. m. to midnight ET until September 1981, when it began broadcasting a 24-hour schedule on weekends until midnight ET on Sunday nights ; it did not start airing 24 hours on weekdays until December 28 of that year ).

Cinemax succeeded in its early years because cable subscribers typically had access to only about three dozen channels.

During the network's first decade on the air, Cinemax had also aired some original music programming, during the mid-to-late 1980s, upon the meteoric rise in popularity of MTV, Cinemax tried its hand at airing music videos by airing an interstitial between films called Max Tracks, it also ran music specials under the banner Cinemax Sessions during that same time period.

The mid and late 1980s also saw Cinemax include a very limited amount of television series on its schedule including the sketch-comedy series Second City Television ( whose U. S. broadcast rights Cinemax had acquired from NBC in 1983 ) and the science fiction series Max Headroom ( which had also aired on ABC from 1987 to 1988 ).

Despite these programming additions, Cinemax had remained foremost a movie channel.

By the mid-2000s, the classic films from the 1960s and earlier that had been broadcast on Cinemax from its launch were relegated to some of its multiplex channels, and have become prominent on its multiplex service, 5StarMax.

A year later, research from Nielsen Media Research showed that multiplex delivery of HBO and Cinemax had positive impact on subscriber usage and attitudes, including subscribers ’ retention of pay cable subscriptions.

Before cable systems dropped The Movie Channel ( along with Showtime and rivals Cinemax, Encore and Starz ) from their basic packages, relegating it to their digital cable packages, The Movie Channel had a high basic cable coverage rate.

Cable TV is very cheap for all standards, the standard / basic service, offering about 50 channels, is around 20-30 RON / month including VAT ( about 7-10 €), with the most expensive service, offering 10-15 channels more, including some pay-per-view such as HBO or Cinemax, costing no more than 60-70 RON / month ( around 20-23 €).

Shaffer also served as musical director for Fats Domino and Friends, a Cinemax special that included Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and Ron Wood.

Instead, for its final season, the show moved to pay-TV channels Superchannel in Canada and Cinemax in the United States, changing the name slightly to SCTV Channel.

Movies were the most sought-after program category by cable subscribers, and the fact Cinemax would show classics without commercials and editing made the channel an attractive add-on for HBO subscribers.

A typical price for HBO in the early 1980s was $ 12. 95 per month, while Cinemax typically could be added for between $ 7 – 10 extra per month.

Cinemax also packages the East and West feeds of the primary and multiplex channels together, allowing viewers a second chance to watch the same program three hours later or earlier depending on their geographic location ( for West Coast viewers, this gives viewers a chance to see a program as it airs on the East Coast before it airs on the West Coast feed ).

The Cinemax Multiplex was known as " MultiMax " for several years, but now has no " official " name.

On September 13, 2010, Cinemax launched Max Go, a website which features 700 hours of content available for streaming in standard or high definition, at no additional charge to Cinemax subscribers.

In February 2008, a new sparse and bare branding campaign was introduced, with voiceovers for movie promotions and ratings bumpers fully withdrawn from all Cinemax networks.

In August 2011, Cinemax introduced a new logo in line with promotional efforts for Strike Back, with a diagonal-cut yellow line with uppercase black " CINEMAX " lettering ; only the " MAX " portion is used for Cinemax on Demand and Max Go ( for both services, a tilted black box is added next to the yellow / black " MAX " to fit either " OD " " on demand " or " GO "), along with the linear multiplex channels ( for the multiplex channels, the prefix titles for each channel are added before it with no line treatment ).

Nyali is home for the Nyali Cinemax complex, Mamba Village, the Nyali Golf Club, and some of the most prestigious academic institutions of the Coast Province.

In 1983, the Weinsteins and Lewis produced an 80-minute sequel TV special for HBO / Cinemax later released on home video by Media Home Entertainment titled The Secret Policeman's Private Parts.

Today, a large majority of mainstream films featured on Cinemax are from the 1990s to present, with some films from the 1970s and 1980s included on the schedule.

Subscribers of DirecTV, Dish Network and some cable providers can get the Cinemax networks without subscribing to HBO, though most cable providers offer the two services and their respective multiplexes as a single package.

Usually films which HBO has pay-cable rights to will also run on Cinemax during the period of its term of license, although some feature films from the aforementioned studios that Cinemax and HBO have broadcast rights to make their premium television debut on Cinemax several weeks before its premiere on HBO.

All channel logos were redesigned -- and most notably, the main Cinemax channel became visually referred to as simply " max ", though in some ads, cast members from the network's " After Dark " series continued to refer the network vocally as Cinemax, and ads promoting Cinemax outside the channel continued to use the original 1997 logo design ( though a variant without the circle behind the ' max ' was used from 2010 to 2011 ).

In some countries, programming aimed at adult audiences may also air during the late night hours, such as softcore pornography ( in the United States, a handful of cable television channels such as Cinemax and HDNet have used this practice, but this is forbidden on American broadcast television ).

This movie in particular has been shown in some United States Cable TV channels, such as Cinemax.

It was the first satellite exclusively devoted to cable television, and carried many such services as HBO, Cinemax, The Movie Channel, Showtime, The Disney Channel, TBS, CNN, among some.

Cinemax original logo when launched in 1980 ; it was used until 1985, and by that time was used in conjunction with another logo introduced that year.

Cinemax launched on August 1, 1980 as HBO's answer to The Movie Channel ( at the time, The Movie Channel was owned by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, a joint venture between Time Warner predecessor Warner Communications and American Express ; that channel is now owned by CBS Corporation through its Showtime Networks unit ).

Animation, New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment, all of which are owned by Cinemax corporate parent Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment division ), DreamWorks Animation ( which lasts until 2013, at which time the Netflix streaming service will assume pay-TV rights ), 20th Century Fox ( and subsidiaries 20th Century Fox Animation and Fox Searchlight Pictures ) and Universal Studios ( and subsidiaries Universal Animation Studios, Working Title Films, Illumination Entertainment and Focus Features ).

Some pay services also offer pornographic films ; a few mainstream services such as Cinemax in the U. S. carry a limited amount of softcore content during late night time periods.

Showtime Networks also continued to thrive in spite of competition from HBO, Cinemax, and Starz.

As a premium channel, The Disney Channel would air week-long free previews four times a year, as well as two free preview weekends periodically ( with ads targeted to non-subscribers ), in the same manner as other premium channels such as HBO, Cinemax and Showtime.

One of only two Cinemax channels that does not air Max After Dark content.

One of only two Cinemax channels that does not air Max After Dark content.

Cinemax rarely airs G-rated films during the morning hours, instead opting to air R, PG-13 or PG rated films.

The main Cinemax channel generally does not air any adult programming before 11: 30 p. m.

Adult films also typically air alongside the adult series, though depending on the Cinemax multiplex channel and which programs are scheduled that night on each channel, this may not always be the case.

A notable aspect of Flix during its early days was that the channel did not advertise the primetime lineup of solely itself, but also ran during breaks between daytime movies, a primetime schedule of programs that were slated to air that night on all major premium channels including HBO, Cinemax and Encore.

TMC also began to air softcore erotica late at night like parent network Showtime and their competitor Cinemax, which started the trend on U. S. pay cable networks as a way to better compete against other premium channels.

Premium channels often air softcore pornographic feature films and series during the late night hours, containing simulated sexual intercourse and nudity that would likely not air during the daytime hours ; Cinemax is the most notable pay service to carry programming of that genre, though most of the Showtime Networks ( including Showtime and The Movie Channel ) and HBO's multiplex channel HBO Zone also carry adult films or series.