Turner Classic Movies

History

Origins

In 1981, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) purchased United Artists (UA) for $380 million. Three years later, in 1984, Ted Turner looked to acquire a library of entertainment programming, primarily for his Atlanta-based "superstation" WTBS. An attempt to acquire CBS had failed when the network announced a large stock buyback to thwart Turner's takeover attempt. In July 1985, Kirk Kerkorian, who had controlled a 50 percent stake of MGM/UA, told Turner he would auction the MGM studio the next month for $1.6 billion. However, the deal did not include the film libraries for United Artists and the pre-1950 Warner Bros. catalogue. Turner replied he would buy MGM if the other libraries were part of the acquisition.

On August 7, 1985, Turner Broadcasting System announced it would acquire MGM/UA for $1.5 billion and Turner would immediately sell United Artists back to Kerkorian for $470 million, resulting in a net purchase price of just below $1 billion. Turner stated, "The acquisition of MGM represents an excellent opportunity to improve the strength and stability of TBS [...] We look forward to prompt completion of the merger and working with the employees of MGM toward a smooth transition." As part of the merger deal, Turner would also have to assume $500 million of MGM's existing debt. To finance the purchase, Turner retained the investment firm Drexel Burnham Lambert as its financial adviser, in which a tentative deal was proposed to raise a "substantial portion" of the required cash through selling high-yield junk bonds.

Turner's initial offer to acquire MGM/UA was $29 per share, for a total of $1.5 billion. However, by October 1985, it was reported Turner was having trouble raising the finances for the deal and was considering relinquishing some company assets. The deal was renegotiated to $25 per share in cash and one share of preferred stock with Turner Broadcasting. On January 14, 1986, it was reported that negotiations for the scaled-down $1.45 billion merger had reached an impasse and both parties were looking to salvage the deal. Both parties released a statement, stating they were "in discussions with a view to a possible restructuring of the agreement under which Turner Broadcasting is to acquire MGM-UA." Three days later, Turner Broadcasting agreed to pay $20 per share in cash and one dividend share of Turner preferred stock of $10.33, for a grand total of $1.25 billion.

On March 4, 1986, the shareholders of both Turner Broadcasting and MGM/UA approved the merger deal. The merger deal was completed on March 25, 1986, which granted Turner the ownership of MGM/UA's film library. The library also included the RKO and pre-1950 Warner Bros. films, which were purchased by Associated Artists Productions (A.A.P.) and then acquired by United Artists in 1958. Turner renamed his studio division MGM Entertainment Co. However, Turner Broadcasting System's corporate debt load totaled $2 billion, and Turner simply could not afford to keep MGM under those circumstances. By June 1986, Turner had agreed to sell MGM back to Kerkorian, from whom Turner had purchased the studio only three months before. Financial analysts estimated that Turner had overpaid to acquire MGM. As a condition of the financial agreement, Turner was required to make principal repayments of $600 million within six months of the merger (by September 1986), or extend the maturity of debt which would likely include higher interest rates.

Launch and contributions (1994–1996)

Turner Classic Movies debuted on April 14, 1994, at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, with Ted Turner launching the channel at a ceremony in New York City's Times Square district. The date and time were chosen to mark the exact centennial anniversary of the first commercial exhibition of a motion picture in the United States. Gone with the Wind (1939) was the first film broadcast on TCM; it was also the same film that served as the debut broadcast of its sister channel TNT six years earlier on October 3, 1988. At the time of its launch, Turner Classic Movies was available to approximately 1 million cable television subscribers.

The network originally served as a competitor to American Movie Classics (now initialized as just AMC) and was owned by Rainbow Media (now AMC Networks), a subsidiary of the now-defunct Cablevision. AMC maintained a virtually identical format to Turner Classic Movies, as both networks largely focused on films released prior to 1970 and aired them in an uncut, uncolorized, and commercial-free format.

Time Warner ownership (1996–2018)

In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner which, besides placing Turner Classic Movies and Time Warner Entertainment under the same corporate umbrella, also gave Turner Classic Movies access to Warner Bros.' library of films released after 1950 (which itself includes other acquired entities such as the Lorimar, Saul Zaentz and National General Pictures libraries); incidentally, Turner Classic Movies 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.

In May 2002, AMC announced it was abandoning its commercial-free format, doubling its number of commercials from four to eight minutes an hour. It also announced it was expanding its programming to include more contemporary films. On September 30, 2002, AMC underwent a significant rebranding, in which they retired the American Movie Classics name and debuted a new logo and tagline. Its revamped approach was expanded to broadcast contemporary films and original programming. This made Turner Classic Movies the only movie-oriented cable channel to devote its programming entirely to classic films without commercial interruption or content editing.

TCM Movie Database (2006–2025)

Launched in 2006 as TCMdb, Turner Classic Movies maintained its own comprehensive database of motion picture history. The database included actors, actresses, and film crew (listing more than 1.25 million people, with 15,000 written biographies), and motion picture titles (more than 130,000 titles), not limited to the film libraries that Turner Classic Movies owned, and it included links by which a user could request that Turner Classic Movies schedule any title for viewing. Richard B. Steiner was the creator, architect, and supervisor of the TCM Movie Database. By 2013, the Watch TCM app for iOS, Android, and Blackberry had some database information. Leonard Maltin's reviews were included in the database. Over the years, features such as integrated airdates were removed. Database entries were available until November 2025; articles from the database are still throughout the new website under the Articles section. Beginning in November 2025, TCM.com began directing users to the American Film Institute's Catalog of Feature Films with a prominent link.

Corporate restructuring (2019–present)

On March 4, 2019, Time Warner's new owner AT&T (who renamed the company WarnerMedia) announced a planned reorganization to effectively dissolve owner Turner Broadcasting System, which involved Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and digital media company Otter Media being transferred directly under Warner Bros. Entertainment. Aside from Otter, which was transferred to WarnerMedia Entertainment on May 31, 2019 to oversee development of HBO Max, the newly transferred properties came under a newly formed division, Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics.

On September 1, 2021, TCM introduced a new logo and slogan, "Where Then Meets Now", in the network's first major rebranding since its launch. The rebranding was intended to give the channel a more modern and energetic presentation while continuing to emphasize its commitment to showcasing classic cinema; new branding elements include Technicolor-inspired color schemes, and a new stylized "C" in its wordmark, which resembles a camera lens and symbolizes themes of "curation", "context", "culture" and "connection".

On May 11, 2022, Turner Classic Movies was moved under Warner Bros. Television after the dissolution of the Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics division by new owner Warner Bros. Discovery.

In March 2023, it was announced that TCM was marking the centennial of Warner Bros., in conjunction with The Film Foundation and the TCM Classic Film Festival. This included special airings of newly-restored Warner Bros. films: Rio Bravo (introduced by Martin Scorsese), and East of Eden (introduced by Wes Anderson and Joanna Hogg).

On June 20, 2023, multiple TCM executives (including executive vice president Pola Changnon, who had been with Turner for over 25 years) were released by the channel's current owner, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), as part of layoffs affecting its U.S. Networks division. The network was to be moved under the oversight of Cartoon Network head Michael Ouweleen, and it was reported that there were plans for more synergies and cross-promotion of TCM with the rest of the networks group. The layoffs led to concerns over the future of the channel, with filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson holding a meeting with WBD CEO David Zaslav to discuss them. They later issued a joint statement, explaining that the channel has been a "precious resource of cinema, open 24 hours a day seven days a week", and had "always been a profitable endeavor".

Now Playing

Turner Classic Movies formerly published Now Playing, a monthly program guide, originally available through a standalone subscription, which provided daily listings and descriptions for films scheduled to air on Turner Classic Movies in the coming month. The digest-size magazine highlighted a featured actor on the cover, and featured essays about the "guest programmer" as well as a movie-and-actor themed crossword puzzle. After Robert Osborne died, the May 2017 issue contained a commemoration titled "Remembering Robert Osborne" by Ben Mankiewicz.

Turner Classic Movies ceased print publication of Now Playing (which had been one of the few channel-specific program guides that remained in print circulation for most of the 2000s and 2010s) with the August 2017 issue, moving it to an electronic format available via email free of charge.

Programming

Movie library

Turner Classic Movies' library of films spans several decades of cinema and includes thousands of film titles. Before its launch in April 1994, Turner's film library had included pre-1986 MGM and RKO films, as well as all pre-1948 Warner Bros. films. In August 1993, TCM obtained exclusive rights to 300 films from Paramount Pictures, for a cost of $30 million. In August 1996, TCM obtained an exclusive, three-year licensing deal to 36 films from Sony Pictures Entertainment (primarily film content from Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures).

In April 2004, near their 10th anniversary, TCM purchased the television licensing rights to 146 titles from Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures. In August of the same year, 20th Century Fox agreed to license several classic film titles from their library. In 2014, Walt Disney Studios agreed to license titles from their library, including episodes from their anthology television series. These were aired during the now defunct programming block Treasures From the Disney Vault, hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin.

In January 2026, TCM announced that it would become the "ongoing television home" of 750 Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons under a six-year agreement, which would premiere on February 2, 2026, with the inaugural Bugs Bunny cartoon "A Wild Hare". TCM would initially highlight the cartoons by declaring Bugs Bunny as its "Star of the Month", with notable Bugs Bunny cartoons aired alongside film selections inspired by them (such as "Rabbit of Seville" and "What's Opera, Doc?" for A Night at the Opera).

Programming blocks

Most feature movies shown during the prime time and early overnight hours (8:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time) were presented by film historian Robert Osborne. He was the network's first host since its 1994 launch until 2016, except for a five-month medical leave from July to December 2011, when guest hosts presented each night's films. In September 2003, Ben Mankiewicz was hired as the network's daytime weekend host.

In October 2012, Osborne announced he was delegating his on-air appearances over to Mankiewicz, who assumed primetime hosting duties on Fridays by the next year. Osborne nevertheless continued hosting the Private Screenings and The Essentials series.

In January 2014, during his "Noir City" film festival in San Francisco, Eddie Muller announced he had been hired as an on-air host for the network. In May 2016, Tiffany Vasquez, a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, became the network's first female host, introducing films on Saturday afternoons. She had previously won TCM's 20th Anniversary Ultimate Fan Contest, flying to Atlanta to introduce a film of her choice on-air with Robert Osborne. In January 2018, Vasquez announced on Twitter she had taped her last introductions and her contract was not renewed.

That same year, in 2018, Dave Karger and Alicia Malone were jointly announced as full-time hosts for the network. In September 2019, Jacqueline Stewart became the network's first African-American host.

TCM regularly features a Star of the Month, where the most prominent roles of a highlighted actor are featured across multiple nights of programming throughout the month.

Silent Sunday Nights – A weekend late-night programming block, which broadcasts silent films on Sunday midnights Eastern Time (ET). It debuted on April 17, 1994 with Buster Keaton's The Cameraman (1928). In 2013, Ben Mankiewicz began hosting the block. In September 2019, Jacqueline Stewart became the current host. Two years later, in September 2021, Sibling Rivalry, a New York City-based independent creative agency, designed the latest bumper intro for the block.

TCM Imports – A weekend late-night programming block, which broadcasts international films which airs on Sunday nights at 2 a.m. ET. It debuted on July 14, 1995 with Ingmar Bergman's Persona (1966) in honor of Bergman's 77th birthday. The block was originally broadcast on Friday nights at 2 a.m. ET. In 2013, Mankiewicz began hosting the block. In March 2019, Alicia Malone became the current host.

Documentaries

In addition to films, Turner Classic Movies also airs original content, mostly documentaries about classic movie personalities, the world of filmmaking and particularly notable films. An occasional month-long series, Race and Hollywood, showcases films by and about people of non-white races, featuring discussions of how these pictures influenced white people's image of said races, as well as how people of those races viewed themselves.

Previous installments have included "Asian Images on Film" in 2008, "Native American Images on Film" in 2010, "Black Images on Film" in 2006 "Latino Images on Film" in 2009 and "Arab Images on Film" in 2011. The network aired the film series Screened Out (which explored the history and depiction of homosexuality in film) in 2007 and Religion on Film (focusing on the role of religion in cinematic works) in 2005. In 2011, TCM debuted a new series entitled AFI's Master Class: The Art of Collaboration.

TCM Remembers

Many films shown on Turner Classic Movies were made during the Golden Age of Hollywood, an era with few survivors. In December 1994, Turner Classic Movies debuted "TCM Remembers", a tribute to recently deceased film personalities (including actors, producers, composers, directors, writers, and cinematographers) which occasionally airs during promotional breaks between films. The segments appear in two forms: individual tributes and a longer end-of-year compilation. Following the recent death of an especially famous film personality (usually an actor or filmmaker), the segment will feature a montage of select shots of the deceased's work.

Every mid-December, a more inclusive TCM Remembers interstitial is produced, featuring a selection of clips interspersed with scenes from settings such as an abandoned drive-in (2012) or a theatre which is closing down (2013). Since 2001, most of the soundtracks for these have been introspective melodies by indie artists such as Badly Drawn Boy (2007) or Steve Earle (2009). 2015's song, "Quickly Now", was written especially for TCM Remembers by Chuck Moore and Reid Hall, and sung by Eryn McHugh.

Accolades

Turner Classic Movies received a 2008 Peabody Award for its dedication to film preservation and "a continuing, powerful commitment to a central concept—the place of film in social and cultural experience".

Turner Classic Movies received a 2013 Peabody Award for its presentation of Mark Cousins' The Story of Film: An Odyssey, a 15-episode documentary about the development and advancement of the medium of motion pictures. Drawing on its exhaustive film library, Turner Classic Movies complemented each episode with short films and feature films from the familiar to the little-seen. The Peabody Award praised Turner Classic Movies' The Story of Film "for its inclusive, uniquely annotated survey of world cinema history".

Streaming

In April 2016, TCM announced it had partnered with The Criterion Collection to create a subscription streaming service called FilmStruck. The service included a curated selection of more than 1,000 classic Hollywood, international, arthouse and independent films, including those from the Janus Films and Kino libraries. FilmStruck was launched on November 1, 2016, and included exclusive bonus content such as hosted introductions, interviews and rare media. In November 2018, FilmStruck was shut down by WarnerMedia, under the ownership of AT&T, to streamline business operations.

TCM has been associated with its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max streaming service since its 2020 launch. TCM has its own category hub on the service with a curated selection of classic films.

Merchandising and events

TCM Vault Collection

The TCM Vault Collection consists of several different DVD collections of rare classic films that have been licensed, remastered and released by Turner Classic Movies (through corporate sister Warner Bros. Home Entertainment). These boxed set releases are of films by notable actors, directors or studios that were previously unreleased on DVD or VHS. The sets often include bonus discs including documentaries and shorts from the Turner Classic Movies library. The initial batch of DVDs are printed in limited quantities and subsequent batches are made-on-demand (MOD).

Universal Collection – Featuring films licensed by Turner Classic Movies from the Universal Pictures vault.

The Lost RKO Collection – Featuring RKO films from the 1930s.

TCM Spotlight – A series of DVD box sets released by Warner Home Video featuring Charlie Chan and stars such as Esther Williams, Errol Flynn, Jean Arthur, Deanna Durbin, and Doris Day.

TCM Wine Club

In October 2015, Turner Classic Movies launched the TCM Wine Club, a new venture which curates wines as inspired by classic Hollywood films. They partnered with Laithwaites, a direct-to-consumer wine distributor and retailer, as well as Wines That Rock, a pop culture wine company, to provide a line of mail-order wines from famous vineyards. As part of their inaugural offer, TCM curated fifteen special wine bottles, including the first-ever release of Cafe Zoetrope, a custom-crafted red from Francis Ford Coppola's winery. Wines are available in a three-month subscription and can be selected as reds, whites, or a mixture of both.

TCM Young Composers Film Competition

In 2000, Turner Classic Movies started an 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.

TCM Classic Film Festival

In April 2010, Turner Classic Movies launched their first Classic Film Festival, an event—now held annually—at the Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Grauman's Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel serves as the festival's key venue for special events. Initially hosted by Robert Osborne, the four-day festival features celebrity appearances, special events, and screenings of around 50 classic films, including several newly-restored films by The Film Foundation, an organization devoted to preserving Hollywood's classic film legacy.

The Classic Film Festival was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was moved to a virtual setting, billed as the "Special Home Edition". In 2021, the festival was cancelled again as a live event, and continued its virtual setting. In 2022, the festival returned to its live setting, with its theme being "All Together Now: Back to the Big Screen." A year later, the festival celebrated the centennial anniversary of Warner Bros. launching with the premiere of a newly-restored edition of Rio Bravo (1959).

TCM Classic Cruise

In 2011, TCM launched its inaugural Classic Cruise event, first aboard the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship traveling from Miami to Key West and Cozumel. In 2013, the Classic Cruise held its maiden voyage aboard the Disney Magic for the first time. In 2016, the cruise instead used the Disney Fantasy, which holds 4,000 passengers compared to the Magic's 2,700-passenger accommodation. In 2019, the Classic Cruise returned from a three-year absence aboard the Disney Magic, sailing from New York to Bermuda.

International versions

Turner Classic Movies is available in many other countries around the world. In Canada, Turner Classic Movies began to be carried on Shaw Cable and satellite provider Shaw Direct in 2005. Rogers Cable started offering Turner Classic Movies in December 2006 as a free preview for subscribers of its digital cable tier and was added to its analogue tier in February 2007. While the schedule for the Canadian feed is generally the same as that of the American network, some films are replaced for broadcast in Canada due to rights issues and other reasons.

Other versions of Turner Classic Movies are currently available in France, French-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Belgium and Spain. The channel also used to be available in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Malta, the Middle East, Africa, Greece, Cyprus, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Nordic countries. The UK version in particular operated two channels, including a spinoff called Turner Classic Movies 2. TCM UK ceased operations on 6 July 2023.