Movies!

About Movies!

Overview

Movies! is an American free-to-air digital television network operated by Weigel Broadcasting and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Launched on May 27, 2013, in partnership with Fox Television Stations, the network airs feature films 24 hours a day, drawing on a library that includes the 20th Century Fox film catalog and other studio titles. Carried on the digital subchannels of local television stations, Movies! distinguishes itself with a viewer-friendly presentation style: films are shown without the profanity and content edits that run afoul of broadcast standards, but the network refuses the heavy syndication cuts common on commercial television, limits commercial interruptions, and even allows irregular start times so movies can air with minimal interference. For cord-cutters and antenna viewers, it functions as a free, over-the-air alternative to cable movie channels.

Formation and Launch

On January 28, 2013, Weigel Broadcasting announced the formation of Movies!, with an agreement with Fox Television Stations to add the channel to the subchannels of 17 Fox owned-and-operated stations. The new channel was slated to launch on Memorial Day of that year. Movies! officially launched on May 27, 2013, at 8:10 a.m. Eastern Time, initially debuting on the subchannels of both of the network's partners: five Fox and 11 MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated stations owned by Fox Television Stations, and two stations owned by Weigel. Its programming was inaugurated by a ten-minute clip introducing the network, followed by the first film ever telecast on Movies!: the 1975 western Take a Hard Ride. Frank Cicha, senior vice president of programming for Fox Television Stations, explained the rationale at launch: "We're doing Movies! because this content works in the D2 space. Weigel has proven that in their other ventures, which is why we've chosen to work with them. While we've successfully used our D2 spectrum to some degree, this is the first time we're going in with all stations on board, which is exciting."

The Launch Markets

At launch, Movies! reached viewers in many of the country's largest markets through the Fox station group, including New York (WNYW), Los Angeles (KTTV), Chicago (WFLD), Philadelphia (WTXF), Austin (KTBC), Boston (WFXT), and Minneapolis (KMSP), alongside Weigel's own stations such as WMLW in Milwaukee. Fox's goal, as described at the time, was to create a destination where movie fans could watch fan-friendly, free content over the air and on cable. The channel was positioned to compete with This TV, a similar film-oriented multicast network — and notably, Weigel itself had been a partner in This TV. On May 13, 2013, Weigel announced it would leave the This TV partnership to focus on Movies!, and Tribune Broadcasting assumed operations of This TV that November, moving it to a WGN-TV subchannel in Chicago.

Presentation Format

Movies! was designed from the start around what Fox and Weigel called a "new, viewer and advertiser friendly format, not seen on broadcast television to date." Although the network airs commercials, it carries film edits without profanity and content that does not meet broadcast standards, while refusing the broadcast syndication cuts that typically trim films to fit rigid time slots — and it imposes no time-slot constraints of its own. A notation in the Movies! title card stating that no film alterations are made is aired at the beginning of every film broadcast. Short films are aired to line up films to the top of the hour when needed, and to fill out time for a film that runs short. The network maintains a light commercial load and uses irregular start times to give each film as much breathing room as possible, a deliberate contrast with the heavily edited, interruption-dense movie presentations common on commercial television.

Themed Programming Blocks

Over the years, Movies! has developed themed programming blocks that give its round-the-clock film schedule a recognizable rhythm. Dedicated film noir blocks air all day on Thursdays and on Sunday nights, catering to fans of the shadowy crime cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. Friday nights bring "Friday Night Frights" double features, showcasing horror and thriller titles. These themed nights let the network serve genre enthusiasts — noir devotees, horror fans, western lovers — within its broad all-movie format, creating appointment viewing for audiences who might otherwise drift across a formless stream of titles.

The Film Library

Movies!'s programming emphasizes feature films spanning decades and genres, from classic Hollywood titles to more contemporary releases. The network's library draws significantly on the 20th Century Fox catalog through its partnership with Fox Television Stations, supplemented by films from other studios and distributors. The breadth of the library allows the schedule to range across westerns, musicals, dramas, comedies, action films, and film noir, with the network's curators assembling lineups that balance familiar favorites with lesser-known titles. The 24-hour schedule means the network can air hundreds of different films in a given month, giving regular viewers a constantly rotating selection.

Distribution and Availability

Movies! broadcasts 24 hours a day in the 16:9 widescreen picture format, available in either standard definition or high definition depending on the affiliate station's preference. The network is available in many markets through digital subchannel affiliations with free-to-air television stations, as well as through carriage on pay-television providers via the local affiliate. In markets where no over-the-air affiliate exists, the network has historically been available through other distribution arrangements. Its official website, moviestvnetwork.com, provides schedule information and details on where to watch.

Ownership and Operations

Movies! was launched as a partnership between Weigel Broadcasting and Fox Television Stations, and it is operated by Weigel from the company's Chicago headquarters. It sits within Weigel's growing family of national diginets, which includes MeTV, MeTV+, MeTV Toons, Start TV, Heroes & Icons, Catchy Comedy, Story Television, Dabl, and WEST. The Fox partnership gave Movies! immediate clearance in major markets at launch — a crucial advantage in the diginet business, where national coverage depends on station-group deals — while Weigel brought its experience operating MeTV and its expertise in scheduling and promoting subchannel networks.

Significance and Legacy

Movies! was one of the earliest diginets built around a single programming type — feature films — and its 2013 launch helped establish the template for genre-specific multicast networks. Its viewer-friendly presentation philosophy, with minimal editing and limited commercial interruption, set it apart from both broadcast syndication and basic-cable movie channels, and it demonstrated that free over-the-air television could offer a credible alternative to pay movie services for film fans. The network's long-running partnership between Weigel and Fox also illustrated how station groups and independent broadcasters could collaborate to build national networks on digital subchannels. More than a decade after its Memorial Day debut, Movies! remains a staple of the free-TV landscape — a place where antenna viewers can still stumble across a classic film, uninterrupted and unaltered, any hour of the day or night.

Rivalry with This TV and the Movie-Diginet Wars

Movies! entered a marketplace that already had an established film-oriented diginet: This TV, which Weigel itself had co-owned and operated. This TV had launched in 2008 as a partnership between Weigel and MGM, airing feature films alongside classic television series and children's programming. When Weigel announced Movies! in January 2013, it was effectively building a direct competitor to its own partner network — one with the backing of the Fox station group and access to the 20th Century Fox film library. On May 13, 2013, just two weeks before Movies! went on the air, Weigel announced it would leave the This TV partnership to focus on its new venture. Tribune Broadcasting, owner of the classic-TV diginet Antenna TV, acquired Weigel's co-ownership stake and assumed daily operations of This TV on November 1, 2013, moving the network's Chicago affiliation from Weigel's WCIU-TV to Tribune's WGN-TV. The split set up a years-long rivalry between the two movie diginets. This TV changed hands again in 2020, when Byron Allen's Allen Media Group bought it from MGM, but its coverage declined sharply through 2024, and the network shut down on May 31, 2024. Movies!, backed by the Weigel-Fox partnership and its viewer-friendly presentation format, outlasted its rival and remains on the air — a testament to the strength of its launch strategy and its major-market clearances.