Encore Avenue
| Encore Avenue | |
|---|---|
Encore Avenue logo
|
|
| Launched | October 1, 1994 |
| Closed | March 1, 2016 |
| Owned by | Corus Entertainment |
| Picture format |
1080i (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | Western Canada and Territories |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Formerly called | MovieMax! (1994–2001) |
| Replaced by | The Movie Network Encore |
| Sister channel(s) | Movie Central |
Encore Avenue was a Canadian English language Category A premium cable and satellite television channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment. Encore Avenue was designated to operate west of the Ontario-Manitoba border, including the territories. The channel offered a variety of classic films from the 1970s to the 1990s, with films from the early 2000s interspersed within the schedule.
The service's programming was comparable to that of TMN Encore, a separately-owned pay service (and sister channel to The Movie Network) that was marketed to Eastern Canada, serving areas located east of the Ontario-Manitoba border. In 2016, Movie Central and Encore Avenue were shut down by Corus, with subscribers migrated to The Movie Network and TMN Encore.
The channel was launched on October 1, 1994 as MovieMax!, operating as a sister network to premium movie service Superchannel (now Movie Central). The channel originally focused on movies from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, but later expanded its film library to include films from earlier decades (as its licence allows the channel to air movies that were released up to five years from the present year). The channel was originally owned by Western International Communications. In the late 1990s, after digital cable and satellite television became available in Canada, MovieMax! launched a multiplex channel called MovieMax! 2, which was available initially on satellite only (and operated as a two-hour timeshift channel of the main MovieMax! channel).
Duelling takeover bids for, and eventual 2000 split of, WIC resulted in Superchannel and MovieMax! being acquired by Corus Entertainment. On April 1, 2001, Superchannel and MovieMax! were rebranded under the umbrella brand Movie Central, which consisted of six diverse channels utilizing a common street-themed branding scheme: Movie Central, Adrenaline Drive (focusing on action movies), Heartland Road (focusing on romance films), Shadow Lane (focusing on horror/suspense films), Encore Avenue (focusing on classic movies), and Comic Strip (focusing on comedy films).
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