The HBO Family of Networks
In 1991, HBO and Cinemax became the first premium services to offer multiplexed services to cable customers as companions to the main network, offering multiplex services of HBO and Cinemax to three cable systems in Overland Park, Kansas, Richardson and Plano, Texas, and Racine, Wisconsin operated by TeleCable. A year later, research from A.C. Nielsen Co. showed that multiplex delivery of HBO and Cinemax had positive impact on subscriber usage and attitudes, including subscribers' retention of pay cable subscriptions. HBO2 was launched as a multiplex channel in 1992, launching on these three systems.
In 1995, HBO3 was launched, and a year later HBO Family was launched, becoming the first family-oriented multiplex service of a premium channel (Showtime, Starz and Encore have similar family-oriented multiplex channels). In April 1998 the HBO multiplex channels became collectively known as "HBO The Works", and the Cinemax channels became known as "MultiMax". Also, HBO2 and HBO3 underwent major rebrands: HBO2 was renamed HBO Plus, and HBO3 became HBO Signature (a network aimed at women). In May of the following year, HBO Comedy & HBO Zone (a network aimed at young adults) were launched and in 2000, HBO Latino, a Latino-themed channel of HBO was launched (HBO also offered a Spanish-language enhancement called HBO En Español, airing select HBO programs in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP), that was launched in 1988). Finally in 2002, HBO Plus reverted to its original HBO2 name.
The HBO Multiplex became collectively known under the name "HBO The Works" for several years starting in 1998, while the Cinemax channels became known as "MultiMax". As of 2009 the HBO multiplex, individually, has no "official" name. However, HBO and Cinemax's respective multiplex packages are referred collectively as the "HBO/MAX Pak". 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 package.
Read more about this topic: HBO Sports, Channels
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