the u.s. television channel . for other countries versions see turner classic movies around the world . turner classic movies launched april 14 1994 ; 22 years ago 1994 04 14 owned by turner broadcasting system time warner picture format 1080i hdtv hd feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for sdtvs slogan let s movie . country united states language english imported feature films are broadcast in their native languages provided with english subtitling broadcast area nationwide also available in canada with substitutions ; international versions in latin america africa middle east nordic countries asia pacific spain france u.k. and ireland headquarters atlanta georgia united states sister channel s tbs tnt cartoon network adult swim boomerang cnn hln cnn international cnn en espa ol trutv united states tcm 2 uk & ireland website tcm.com availability satellite directv channel 256 hd sd channel 1256 vod dish network channel 132 hd sd shaw direct canada channel 178 531 sd channel 138 638 hd cable time warner cable channel 631 hd sd available on most american and canadian cable providers check local listings for channels iptv at & t u verse channel 1790 hd channel 790 sd verizon fios channel 230 sd only unavailable in hd bell fibe tv canada channel 292 vmedia canada 327 hd streaming media watch tcm sling tv internet protocol television turner classic movies tcm is an american movie oriented basic cable and satellite television network owned by the turner broadcasting system subsidiary of time warner . tcm is headquartered at the techwood campus in atlanta georgia s midtown business district . historically the channel s programming consisted mainly of featured classic theatrically released feature films from the turner entertainment film library which comprises films from warner bros. pictures covering films released before 1950 and metro goldwyn mayer covering films released before may 1986 . however tcm now has licensing deals with other hollywood film studios as well as its time warner sister company warner bros. which now controls the turner entertainment library and its own later films and occasionally shows more recent films . the channel is available in united states canada united kingdom ireland latin america france spain nordic countries middle east africa and asia pacific . contents 1 history 1.1 origins 1.2 launch and contributions 2 programming 2.1 movie library 2.2 hosted and special programming 2.2.1 regular features 2.2.2 seasonal blocks 2.3 documentaries 3 tcm remembers 3.1 tcm remembers soundtracks 4 turner classic movies hd 5 merchandising 5.1 tcm vault collection 6 international versions 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit origins edit in 1986 eight years before the launch of turner classic movies ted turner acquired the metro goldwyn mayer film studio for 1.5 billion . concerns over turner entertainment s corporate debt load resulted in turner selling the studio that october back to kirk kerkorian from whom turner had purchased the studio less than a year before . 1 as part of the deal turner entertainment retained ownership of mgm s library of films released up to may 9 1986 . turner broadcasting system was split into two companies ; turner broadcasting system and metro goldwyn mayer and reincorporated as mgm ua communications co. the film library of turner entertainment would serve as the base form of programming for tcm upon the network s launch . before the creation of turner classic movies films from turner s library of movies aired on the turner broadcasting system s advertiser supported cable network tnt along with colorized versions of black and white classics such as the maltese falcon . after the library was acquired mgm ua signed a deal with turner to continue distributing the pre may 1986 mgm and to begin distributing the pre 1950 warner bros. film libraries for video release the rest of the library went to turner home entertainment . launch and contributions edit turner classic movies debuted on april 14 1994 at 6 00 p.m. eastern time with ted turner launching the channel at a ceremony in new york city s times square district . 2 3 the date was chosen for its significance as the exact centennial anniversary of the first public movie showing in new york city . the first movie broadcast on tcm was the 1939 film gone with the wind the same film that served as the debut broadcast of its sister channel tnt six years earlier in october 1988 . at the time of its launch tcm was available to approximately one million cable television subscribers . 4 the network originally served as a competitor to amc which at the time was known as american movie classics and maintained a virtually identical format to tcm as both networks largely focused on films released prior to 1970 and aired them in an uncut uncolorized and commercial free format . amc had broadened its film content to feature colorized and more recent films by 2002 . in the early 90 s amc abandoned its commercial free format leaving tcm as the only movie oriented cable channel to devote its programming entirely to classic films without commercial interruption . in 1996 turner broadcasting system merged with time warner which besides placing turner classic movies and warner bros. entertainment under the same corporate umbrella also gave tcm access to warner bros. library of films released after 1949 which itself includes other acquired entities such as the lorimar saul zaentz and national general pictures libraries ; incidentally tcm had already been running select warner bros. film titles through a licensing agreement with the studio that was signed prior to the launch of the channel . 5 in march 1999 mgm paid warner bros. and gave up the home video rights to the mgm ua films owned by turner to warner home video . in 2000 tcm started the annual young composers film competition inviting aspiring composers to participate in a judged competition that offers the winner of each year s competition the opportunity to score a restored feature length silent film as a grand prize mentored by a well known composer with the new work subsequently premiering on the network . as of 2006 films that have been rescored include the 1921 rudolph valentino film camille two lon chaney films 1921 s the ace of hearts and 1928 s laugh clown laugh and greta garbo s 1926 film the temptress . robert osborne and charles tabesh at the 68th annual peabody awards for turner classic movies in 2008 tcm won a peabody award for excellence in broadcasting . 6 in april 2010 turner classic movies held the first tcm classic film festival an event now held annually at the grauman s chinese theater and the grauman s egyptian theater in hollywood . hosted by robert osborne the four day long annual festival celebrates hollywood and its movies and features celebrity appearances special events and screenings of around 50 classic movies including several newly restored by the film foundation an organization devoted to preserving hollywood s classic film legacy . 7 programming edit turner classic movies essentially operates as a commercial free service with the only advertisements on the network being shown between features which advertise tcm products network promotions for upcoming special programs and the original trailers for films that are scheduled to be broadcast on tcm particularly those that will air during the primetime hours and featurettes about classic film actors and actresses . in addition to this extended breaks between features are filled with theatrically released movie trailers and classic short subjects from series such as the passing parade crime does not pay pete smith specialties and robert benchley under the banner name tcm extras formerly one reel wonders . in 2007 some of the short films featured on tcm were made available for streaming on tcm s website . partly to allow these interstitials turner classic movies schedules its feature films either at the top of the hour or at 15 30 or 45 minutes past the hour instead of in timeslots of varying five minute increments . tcm s film content has remained mostly uncut and uncolorized with films natively filmed or post produced in the format being those only ones presented in color depending upon the original content of movies particularly movies released after the 1968 implementation of the motion picture association of america s ratings system and the concurrent disestablishment of the motion picture production code . because of this tcm is formatted similarly to a premium channel with certain films particularly those made from the 1960s onward sometimes featuring nudity sexual content violence and or strong profanity ; the network also features rating bumpers prior to the start of a program most programs on tcm especially films are rated for content using the tv parental guidelines in lieu of the mpaa s rating system . the network s programming season runs from february until the following march of each year when a retrospective of oscar winning and oscar nominated movies is shown called 31 days of oscar . as a result of its devoted format to classic feature films viewers who are interested in tracing the career development of actresses such as barbara stanwyck or greta garbo or actors like cary grant or humphrey bogart have the unique opportunity to see most of the films that were made during their careers from beginning to end . turner classic movies presents many of its features in their original aspect ratio widescreen or full screen whenever possible widescreen films broadcast on tcm are letterboxed on the network s standard definition feed . tcm also regularly presents widescreen presentations of films not available in the format on any home video release . occasionally tcm shows restored versions of films particularly old silent films with newly commissioned musical soundtracks . turner classic movies is also a major backer of the descriptive video service created by boston pbs member station wgbh tv with many of the films aired on the network offering visual description for the blind and visually impaired which is accessible through the second audio program option through most television sets or a cable or satellite receiver . movie library edit tcm s library of films spans several decades of cinema and includes thousands of film titles . besides its deals to broadcast film releases from metro goldwyn mayer 8 and warner bros. entertainment turner classic movies also maintains movie licensing rights agreements with universal studios paramount pictures 9 20th century fox as fx movie channel 10 walt disney studios primarily film content from walt disney pictures as well as most of the selznick international pictures library 11 sony pictures entertainment primarily film content from columbia pictures studiocanal and janus films . most paramount sound releases made prior to 1950 are owned by emka ltd. nbcuniversal television distribution while paramount currently owned by viacom holds on to most of its post 1949 releases which are distributed for television by trifecta entertainment & media . columbia s film output is owned by sony through sony pictures television ; distribution of 20th century fox s film library is handled for television by its 21st century fox subsidiary 20th television and the walt disney studios owned by the walt disney company has its library film output handled for television by disney abc domestic television . classic films released by 20th century fox paramount pictures universal studios and columbia pictures are licensed individually for broadcast on turner classic movies . also tcm has aired movies from the 1900s 1910s and the 1920s . although most movies shown on tcm are releases from the 1930s through the 1960s some are more contemporary turner classic movies sometimes airs films from the 1970s and occasionally broadcasts movies released during the 1980s 1990s and the early 2000s . hosted and special programming edit regular features edit tcm prime time host robert osborne at the 73rd annual peabody awards . most feature movies shown during the prime time and early overnight hours 8 00