Another win for fledgling premium net Epix HD: a deal with Dish Network to offer the service to those of its 14.1 million customers who subscribe to HD. It’s the first national deal for the net, which already has signed up *Charter*, Cox , Verizon FiOS, Mediacom and NCTC. When…

Premium entertainment network Epix is having a good week after a distribution drought. Cable operator Mediacom Communications plans to launch the multi-platform network to its subs in April. No details, though. As was the case earlier this week with the Cox Communications deal, neither company is saying how many households…

Epix, the premium entertainment JV between Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), has finally added another distribution partner: Cox Communications. Cox has more than 5 million subscribers. The partnership goes live in April, with VOD, online and subscription-based access for Cox’s “movie tier customers” nationwide. The companies…

If you jump through a few hoops you may be able to watch new premium channel Epix—for 72 hours. Online.  The channel, launching Friday with only Verizon FiOS as a distributor, needs to generate consumer interest. You can’t do that with a very private beta or a service that can…

Hallelujah. Epix is finally launching on Oct 30. The premium movie channel, which is a JV between Paramount Pictures, MGM and and Lions Gate, will be available to Verizon’s FiOS TV subscribers, as was previously announced, and will start this weekend. Some details announced today:—EPIX will be available standard and…

Last month, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) CEO Phillipe Dauman confidently said he expected new premium network Epix to add more distribution partners before its fall launch but the Oct. 30 launch date announced this week still has only one launch partner: Verizon (NYSE: VZ) FiOS. The joint venture of Viacom, Paramount,…

MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) is “about done” with the upfront, Viacom CEO Philipe Dauman told analysts on the company’s Q2 earnings call this morning. “Given current conditions, we’re very pleased,” he added. As for those current conditions, domestic ad revenues declined 6 percent in Q2, which may sound tough but…

Epix, the high-profile premium movie JV from Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate, is launching online tomorrow in a private beta. The service, announced with much fanfare in April last year, still hasn’t announced a distribution deal on cable or satellite. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in an earnings…

The high-profile premium movie JV from Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate, now called Epix, is still optimistic on getting a distribution deal on cable or satellite by fall this year, despite worsening economic conditions. The JV has already announced that it will go ahead with an online/broadband launch…

Back when I started writing about cable programming, if a wannabe network couldn’t get distribution on cable, it tried satellite in the hopes that would put pressure on cable or at least give the network a way to move off paper and into some homes. If it couldn’t get satellite,…