Key Points
- Lionsgate is launching a new digital broadcast network, Moviesphere Gold.
- The channel pulls from the Lionsgate content library, and will operate through a partnership with Debmar-Mercury.
- The channel will be offered on Univision-owned stations across key parts of the country, and clear national distribution on DIRECTV, Sling Freestream and others.
Lionsgate has launched a version of its free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel Moviesphere for distribution on digital broadcast television, the company announced on Wednesday.
The channel, Moviesphere Gold, has been available through a digital slot on Univision-owned television stations for several weeks, with safe-for-broadcast edits of films like “Rambo,” “Dirty Dancing,” “The Shack” and “The Hunger Games,” pulling from Lionsgate’s deep library of content.
On Wednesday, Lionsgate confirms the channel is available in more than 30 million homes through broadcast TV, and clears national distribution on DIRECTV, Dish Network satellite TV and the streaming services Sling Freestream and Frndly TV.
“MovieSphere Gold represents the next evolution in multicast entertainment,” said Jim Packer, the President of Worldwide Television Dstribution for Lionsgate. “This new digital network gives audiences access to acclaimed titles that were previously unavailable in this space, offering a richer, more diverse selection of films than ever before.”
Moviesphere Gold is operated through a partnership between Lionsgate and Debmar-Mercury. Paramount’s CBS Media Ventures is handling national advertising sales for the digital multicast network.
“MovieSphere Gold offers us the rare opportunity to enter into an area of television – digital broadcasting – that is growing year over year with eight diginets now among the top-50 entertainment networks,” Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus, the co-Presidents of Debmar-Mercury, said in a prepared statement. “Because of the massive size and quality of the Lionsgate film library, this now gives us the unique ability to pivot to the titles that perform best with viewers.”
Viewers interested in Moviesphere Gold can look up their local affiliates and find more information about programming at the Moviesphere Gold website.
