This TV

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Type	Digital broadcast television network (Movies, classic television series, children's programs)
Branding	This
Country	United States
Availability	Nationwide, though not in every market
Founded	July 28, 2008
Slogan	"It doesn't get any better than THIS!"
Owner	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Weigel Broadcasting (both owning 50%)
Key people	Neal Sabin; Jim Marketti (creative director)
Launch date	November 1, 2008
Picture format	480i (SD)
Official website	http://www.thistv.com

This TV (also referred to as "This TV Network" or just "this" in on-air promotions) is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies.

A joint venture between film/TV studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting Co., the network appears in many markets via terrestrial television stations (primarily on their digital subchannels), on select cable systems, and on free-to-air C-band satellite via AMC-1 in DVB-S format.^[1] This TV broadcasts 24 hours a day in the 480i standard definition broadcast format.

Background[link]

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Weigel Broadcasting announced the formation of This TV on July 28, 2008, with a planned launch that autumn.^[2][3][4] The network had a formal on-air launch date of November 1, 2008,^[5] though some stations may have "soft launched" the network one day earlier—October 31, 2008—to carry some Halloween-themed programming that the network provided.^[5][6]

The "This TV" name was chosen as a branding and marketing avenue for the network and its stations, with proposed slogans such as "THIS is the place for movies", "THIS is what you're watching", and "It doesn't get any better than THIS!".^[7] This TV launched on November 1, 2008 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, with the 1986 Spike Lee film She's Gotta Have It as the network's first telecast.^[5]

This TV's operations are overseen by Neal Sabin, who in his role as Weigel Broadcasting's executive vice president launched Me-TV, a classic TV network similar to This TV. Jim Marketti, president/CEO of Marketti Creative Group, was hired in August 2008 as This TV's creative director, focusing on the network's marketing and promotion.^[8] MGM handles sales for the network through its offices in New York City.

Programming[link]

This TV's program schedule relies on the extensive library of films and TV programming currently owned by MGM and subsidiary United Artists (notably excluding the pre-1986 MGM film/TV library and the a.a.p. library, whose rights are currently held by Turner Entertainment and Time Warner).

No originally-produced programming appears on the network, although the use of on-air presenters had been considered for This TV's movie broadcasts. The network does not utilize a split-screen credit sequence or feature voiceovers promoting upcoming network programming during the closing credits, and is also devoid of informercial programming.^[7] However, the network does display an on-screen logo bug during its programs, affiliates are inclined to include regional descriptors reflecting the station's primary broadcast area underneath the logo, and films broadcast on the network do feature commercial interruption, breaks during programming primarily consist of direct response advertisements for products featured in informercials and particularly during This TV's children's programming, public service announcements. The network's continuity announcer is Milwaukee radio personality and Miller Park PA system announcer Robb Edwards.

Movies[link]

This TV's daily schedule consists largely of feature films, which air on Monday through Thursdays from 11 a.m.–4 a.m., 11 a.m. Friday mornings–9 a.m. ET Saturday mornings, Saturdays from 1 p.m.–7 a.m. ET, and Sundays from 12–9 p.m. and 11 p.m.–4 a.m. ET (sometimes starting earlier or ending later depending on the length of the films). The film roster does not concentrate on films from any specific era, meaning any film from the Depression era to contemporary times and films made for either TV or cinema can be featured.

This TV also commonly features themed movie presentations, with the entire day's schedule consisting of films from a particular genre once a week throughout the month. The network also broadcasts a featured movie in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on Monday through Friday nights, the weeknight prime movie presentations are typically replayed later in the evening. Although the network does not advertise itself as a family-oriented television network, This TV uses audio ducking to remove all profanities featured within many more recent film titles, though other suggestive content is kept as is from the broadcast versions of the films. In addition, the network will air Pink Panther cartoon shorts as filler between films, in instances where a film runs at least seven minutes short of its allotted air time.

Films featured on This TV consist of releases from network co-parent Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and its subsidiaries United Artists (post-1952 films) and The Samuel Goldwyn Company (pre-1997 films), as well as films produced by now-defunct film studios Orion Pictures (post-1981 films and its Orion Classics division), The Cannon Group (except for those co-produced with Warner Bros), American International Pictures, and Mirisch Company (all of which were acquired by MGM); in addition, films produced by Polygram Filmed Entertainment (which was not acquired by MGM at the time Polygram folded in 1999, although MGM holds distribution rights to their pre-1996 films) are also featured on the network.

Most recently, Vampire in Brooklyn, which was released by Paramount Pictures became the first non-MGM film to be aired on the network on February 14, 2011.^[9] In addition to Paramount (through Trifecta Entertainment and Media), the network has acquired broadcast rights to classic movies from 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures, including among them Abbott and Costello movies.

Classic television series[link]

The network's weekday early morning lineup features such vintage series as Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, Mister Ed, The Patty Duke Show, Bat Masterson, The Outer Limits, and more recent series, Emily of New Moon and Stargate SG-1. The majority of these classic series air on weekdays just prior to the network's children's program block, with the exception of Sunday night airings of Stargate SG-1.

Children's programming[link]

This TV also features a daily block of children's programming called "Cookie Jar Toons" and "This Is for Kids" (including shows that meet the FCC's E/I content requirements) that is handled by Toronto-based Cookie Jar Entertainment and also features Weigel's Chicago-based program originally meant for local viewing, Green Screen Adventures.

The blocks non-E/I programming are branded under the banner name "This is for Kids", while the E/I programming is branded under the name "Cookie Jar Toons". Children's programs featured in the blocks include library content from CJE entities DiC Entertainment and Cinar Films, as well as recent originally-produced content by Cookie Jar.

This is different from two other children's program blocks from CJE that feature E/I-compliant children's programming: Cookie Jar Kids Network, a block featuring mostly Cinar-produced programming from the 1990s, formerly known as the DiC Kids Network until a September 2009 rebranding; and the CJE-run Cookie Jar TV Saturday morning block for CBS (incidentally, most of the current programming featured in the Cookie Jar Toons block on Saturday mornings, as of January 2011, has previously been or is currently broadcast on CBS' Cookie Jar TV block under that block's current name or under its previous names "KEWLopolis" and "KOL Secret Slumber Party").

Affiliates[link]

In addition to Weigel-owned stations in Chicago (WCIU) and Milwaukee (WDJT-TV), This TV reached agreements with several ownership groups to add the network to some of their stations in 2009. The group list includes stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, Post-Newsweek Stations, Fisher Communications, Hearst-Argyle Broadcasting, Tribune Broadcasting, Raycom Media and Belo.^[10][11] This TV's affiliation agreement with Tribune Broadcasting was renewed in May 2010, a move that will bring the network to additional Tribune-owned stations in markets such as Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and San Diego, and will help This TV's coverage reach 85% of the U.S.^[12], making This TV the largest subchannel by percentage of the population reached. A number of NBC affiliates added This TV as a replacement for the now-defunct NBC Weather Plus service, which closed at the end of 2008. Additionally, Equity Media Holdings selected This TV as a replacement for Retro Television Network on some of its stations after Equity dropped its relationship with RTN in January 2009 due to payment disputes; the Equity-owned stations were since sold, with several disaffiliating with This TV or going off the air completely.

Stations that carry This TV have the option to air select programming from the network on their main channels; they also have the option to preempt This TV programming, either via a secondary affiliation deal with another network or with locally-produced programming, or in the most used case, moving network programming to the This subchannel to accommodate local sports or breaking news coverage on the main channel.^[13]

See also[link]

• Me-TV, a sister digital broadcast network, owned by Weigel Broadcasting and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, specializing in classic TV series from the 1960s to the 1980s.
• Retro Television Network, a similar digital broadcast network owned by Luken Communications specializing in classic TV series from the 1950s to the 1970s.
• Antenna TV, a digital broadcast network owned by Tribune Broadcasting specializing in classic TV programming and some feature film content.
• Bounce TV, a similar digital broadcast network specializing in films and select classic programming aimed at the African-American community

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• This TV on Facebook

Kevin Spacey
Spacey in April 2009
Born	Kevin Spacey Fowler (1959-07-26) July 26, 1959 (age 52) South Orange, New Jersey, United States
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1981–present

Kevin Spacey, CBE (born Kevin Spacey Fowler; July 26, 1959) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television. He gained critical acclaim in the early 1990s, culminating in his first Academy Award for The Usual Suspects (Best Supporting Actor), followed by a Best Actor Academy Award win for American Beauty (1999). His other starring roles in Hollywood include Seven, L.A. Confidential, Pay It Forward, K-PAX, and Superman Returns in a career which has earned him several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Since 2003, he has been artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London.

Early life[link]

Spacey was born in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of Kathleen Ann (née Knutson; December 5, 1931 – March 19, 2003), a secretary, and Thomas Geoffrey Fowler (June 4, 1924 – December 24, 1992), a technical writer and data consultant.^[1][2][3] He has two older siblings: a sister, Julie, and a brother, Randy. He attended Northridge Military Academy, Canoga Park High School (in tenth and eleventh grades), and then Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, where he graduated valedictorian of his class.^[4][5] At Chatsworth High, he starred in the school's senior production of The Sound of Music, playing the part of Captain Georg von Trapp, opposite Mare Winningham's character, Maria.

While in high school, he took on his paternal grandmother's maiden name, "Spacey", originally a Yorkshire name, as his acting surname.^[3][6] Several reports have incorrectly suggested that he took his name in tribute to actor Spencer Tracy, combining Tracy's first and last names.^[6] He had tried to succeed as a comedian for several years, before attending the Juilliard School in New York City, where he studied drama,^[7] between 1979 and 1981. During this time period, Spacey performed stand-up comedy in bowling alley talent contests.^[8]

Career[link]

Spacey's first professional stage appearance was as a spear-carrier in a New York Shakespeare Festival performance of Henry VI, part 1 in 1981. The following year, he made his first Broadway appearance, as Oswald in a production of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, starring Liv Ullmann. Then he portrayed Philinte in Molière's The Misanthrope. In 1984, it was David Rabe's Hurlyburly, where he rotated through each of the male parts (he would later play Mickey in the film version). Next came Anton Chekhov's The Seagull and a period, in 1986, performing Sleuth in a New Jersey dinner theatre.

His prominence as a stage actor began in 1986, when he was cast opposite Jack Lemmon, Peter Gallagher and Bethel Leslie as Jamie, the eldest Tyrone son in Jonathan Miller's lauded production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night. Lemmon in particular would become a mentor to Spacey.^[9] He made his first major television appearance in the second season premiere of Crime Story, playing a Kennedy-esque American senator. Although his interest soon turned to film, Spacey remained actively involved in the live theater community. In 1991, he won a Tony Award for his portrayal of "Uncle Louie" in Neil Simon's Broadway hit Lost in Yonkers. Spacey's father was unconvinced that Spacey could make a career for himself as an actor, and did not change his mind until Spacey became well-known.^[8]

Some of Spacey's early roles include a widowed eccentric millionaire on L.A. Law, the made-for-television film The Murder of Mary Phagan (1988), opposite Lemmon, and the Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder–starring comedy See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989). Spacey earned a fan base following after playing the criminally insane arms dealer Mel Profitt on the television series Wiseguy. He quickly developed a reputation as a character actor, and was cast in bigger roles, including one-half of the bickering Connecticut couple in the dark comedy The Ref (1994), a malicious Hollywood studio boss in the satire Swimming with Sharks, and the malevolent office manager in the all-star ensemble film Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), gaining him positive notices by critics. His performance as the enigmatic criminal Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.^[7]

Spacey appeared in the 1995 thriller film Seven, with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, making a sudden entrance late in the film as the serial killer John Doe, after going unmentioned in the film's advertisements and opening credits. His work in Seven, The Usual Suspects, and Outbreak earned him Best Supporting Actor honors at the 1995 Society of Texas Film Critics Awards.^[10][11]

Spacey played an egomaniacal district attorney in A Time to Kill (1996), and founded Trigger Street Productions in 1997, with the purpose of producing and developing entertainment across various media. He made his directorial debut with the film Albino Alligator (1996). The film was a failure at the box office, grossing $339,379 with a budget of $6 million, but critics praised Spacey's direction. He also did voice work in Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998) voicing the main antagonist Hopper, the leader of a vicious gang of grasshoppers.

Spacey won universal praise and a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a depressed suburban father who re-evaluates his life in 1999's American Beauty;^[7] the same year, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Spacey also earned another Tony nomination the same year, for his work in a Broadway production of The Iceman Cometh. During the several years following American Beauty's release, Spacey appeared in films that he believes^{[citation needed]} hadn't done as well critically or in terms of box office. In 2001, Spacey co-hosted, with Judi Dench, the Unite for the Future Gala, a UK fundraiser for the British Victims of 9/11 and Médecins Sans Frontières at London's Old Vic Theatre, produced by Harvey Goldsmith and Dominic Madden.

He played a physically and emotionally scarred grade school teacher in Pay It Forward (2000), a patient in a mental institution who may or may not be an alien in K-Pax (2001), and singer Bobby Darin in Beyond the Sea (2004). Beyond The Sea was a lifelong dream project for Spacey, who took on co-writing, directing, co-producing and starring duties in the biography/musical about Darin's life, career, and relationship with actress Sandra Dee. Facing little interest for backing in the States, Spacey went to the UK and Germany for funding. Almost all of the movie was filmed in Berlin.^[9] Spacey provided his own vocals on the Beyond the Sea soundtrack and appeared in several tribute concerts around the time of the film's release. He received mostly positive reviews for his singing, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. However, reviewers criticized the age disparity between Spacey and Darin, noting that Spacey was too old to convincingly portray Darin, particularly during the early stages of the singer's life depicted in the film.

Spacey hosted Saturday Night Live twice: first in 1997 with musical guest Beck and special guests Michael Palin and John Cleese from Monty Python's Flying Circus; and again in the last episode of season 31 with musical guest Nelly Furtado.

Spacey at HBO Post Emmys Party, 2008

In 2006, Spacey played Lex Luthor in the Bryan Singer–directed superhero film, Superman Returns. He was to return for its 2009 sequel, but it was recently revealed that there won't be a chronological sequel; it is currently unknown if he has been asked to resume the role in any future films. Spacey also appeared in Edison, co-starring Morgan Freeman and Justin Timberlake; Edison received a direct-to-video release on July 18, 2006. In 2008, he played an MIT lecturer in the film 21, along with Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, and Jim Sturgess. The film is based on Ben Mezrich's best seller, Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, a story of student MIT card-counters who used mathematical probability to aid them in card games such as blackjack.

Spacey is well known in Hollywood for his impressions as when he appeared on Inside the Actors Studio he imitated, at host James Lipton's request: James Stewart, Johnny Carson, Katharine Hepburn, Clint Eastwood, John Gielgud, Marlon Brando, Christopher Walken, Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon.^[12]

Capitol/EMI's album Forever Cool (2007) features two duets with Spacey and the voice of the late Dean Martin: "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" and "King of the Road."

Spacey sits on the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture and Television Fund.^[13]

The Old Vic[link]

In February 2003, Spacey announced that he was returning to London to become the artistic director of the Old Vic, one of the city's oldest theatres.^[14] Appearing at a press conference with Judi Dench and Elton John, he promised both to appear on stage and to bring in big-name talent.^[15] Spacey undertook to remain in the post for a full ten years. The Old Vic Theatre Company, in its current form, stages shows eight months out of the year. Spacey's first season started in September 2004, and opened with the British premiere of the play Cloaca by Maria Goos, directed by Spacey, which opened to mixed reviews.^[16] In the 2005 season, Spacey made his UK Shakespearean debut, to good notices, in the title role of Richard II directed by Trevor Nunn.^[16]

In mid-2006, Spacey felt he was having the time of his life working at the Old Vic. At this point in his career, he was "trying to do things now that are much bigger and outside himself".^[17] He performed in productions of National Anthems by Dennis McIntyre, and The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry in which he played C. K. Dexter Haven, the Cary Grant role in the film version. Critics applauded Spacey's daring for taking on the management of a theatre, but noted that while his acting was impressive, his skills and judgment as a producer/manager had yet to develop.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2006 season, Spacey suffered a major setback with a production of Arthur Miller's Resurrection Blues, directed by Robert Altman.^[18] Despite an all-star cast (including Neve Campbell and Matthew Modine) and the pedigree of Miller's script, Spacey's decision to lure Altman to the stage proved disastrous: after a fraught rehearsal period, the play opened to a critical panning, and closed after only a few weeks.^[17] Later in the year, Spacey starred in Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten, along with Colm Meaney and Eve Best. The play received excellent reviews for Spacey and Best, and was transferred to Broadway in 2007. For the spring part of the 2007–08 season, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Michelle Kelly joined Spacey as the three characters in David Mamet's 1988 play Speed-the-Plow.^[19]

In January 2009, he directed the premiere of Joe Sutton's Complicit, with Richard Dreyfuss, David Suchet and Elizabeth McGovern.

In September, 2009, Trevor Nunn directed Spacey in a revival of Inherit The Wind. Based on a true story of a teacher arrested for teaching his students evolution also known as the "Scopes Monkey Trial," Spacey played defense lawyer Henry Drummond, a role that was made famous by actor Spencer Tracy in the 1960 film of the same name.

In June 2011, Sam Mendes directed Spacey in a Shakespeare's Richard III. The production will mount a worldwide tour for the rest of 2011 culminating in New York in early 2012.^[20]

Other honors[link]

Spacey was awarded a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa from the London South Bank University in November 2005.^[21]

In June 2008, he was appointed as Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at St Catherine's College, Oxford, succeeding Patrick Stewart in the post. He was officially welcomed on October 13, 2008.^[22]

On November 3, 2010 he was invested as an honorary CBE by Prince Charles at Clarence House, on behalf of the Queen, for services to drama.^[23]

Personal life[link]

This section may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (March 2012)

In September 2006, Spacey announced his intention to stay on at the Old Vic for at least another nine years, and that due to his continuing UK residency he intends to take up British citizenship when it becomes available to him.^[24]

Spacey is a staunch Democrat and a friend of former US President Bill Clinton, having met Clinton before his presidency began. Spacey has described Clinton as "one of the shining lights" of the political process.^[8] According to Federal Election Commission data, Spacey has contributed US$42,000 to Democratic candidates and committees.^[25] He additionally made a cameo appearance in President Clinton: Final Days, a light-hearted political satire produced by the Clinton administration for the White House Correspondents Dinner.^[26]

In September 2007, Spacey met Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Neither spoke to the press about their encounter but hours later the actor visited the government-funded movie studio, Villa del Cine (Cinema City).^[27] In December of that year he co-hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert with Uma Thurman.^[28]

Spacey has never married and staunchly protects his private life.^[29] This has generated rumors regarding his sexual orientation. He has stated that he is not gay in the October 1999 issue of Playboy,^[30] in The Sunday Times Magazine (December 19, 1999)^[31] and in the May 2007 issue of Gotham Magazine.^[32]

Voice actress April Winchell revealed in broadcasts of her KFI show, on her web diary and several other websites that she and Spacey dated for a while after high school during a run of the musical Gypsy and later went to New York together.^[33][34] Between 1992 and 2000, Spacey reportedly discreetly dated Dianne Dreyer,^[32][35][36] script supervisor to Anthony Minghella, M. Night Shyamalan and Sydney Pollack.^[37]

In March 2011, following Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko's crackdown on the Belarusian democracy movement, Spacey, along with Jude Law and others, joined street protests against Lukashenko. Spacey stated: "...they will never be able to ban the Belarus people's right to fight for their freedom and their voices to be heard, and that's what this protest is about."^[38]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Live performances[link]

• "Mind Games" — Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music — October 2, 2001 — Radio City Music Hall

Curiosities[link]

In year 2011 the italian rapper Caparezza dedicates a song to the actor, named "Kevin Spacey," included in his album Il sogno eretico. The song has been playing on Italian and Swiss radios since January 27, 2012.

References[link]