Cinemax is an American premium television network and service owned by Home Box Office, Inc., a subsidiary of Skydance Corporation. Launched on August 1, 1980, as a "maxi-pay" service to complement the offerings of its sister premium network, HBO (Home Box Office), Cinemax initially focused on recent and classic films. Today, its programming primarily includes recent and classic theatrically released films, original series, documentaries, and special behind-the-scenes features.
It operates five 24-hour linear channels and offers a traditional subscription video-on-demand service called Cinemax On Demand. Cinemax previously provided a TV Everywhere streaming platform, Cinemax Go, which is no longer available. However, its linear channels are accessible through multichannel video programming distributors such as Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Roku.
History Home Box Office, Inc., owned by Time Inc.'s Time-Life Broadcasting unit, launched a movie-centered pay service called Take 2 on April 1, 1979, as a companion to HBO. However, Take 2 struggled with subscriber growth and was discontinued in February 1981. HBO then announced the launch of Cinemax, a "maxi-pay" network designed to complement HBO and compete with other movie network/premium services. Cinemax debuted on August 1, 1980, focusing on theatrical films with no commercials or edits for content.
Cinemax initially aired on 56 cable systems in the Eastern and Central time zones, with a West Coast feed launching on September 1, 1980. The network transitioned to a 24-hour schedule on January 1, 1981. Cinemax offered uncut films and was marketed as a premium addition to HBO, often bundled with HBO for a discount.
In October 1983, Cinemax faced a trademark infringement lawsuit from Tulsa 23 Limited Partnership over its promotional slogan, "We Are Your Movie Star." The court ruled in favor of Tulsa 23, and Cinemax was ordered to discontinue the slogan.
As competition increased, Cinemax adjusted its programming strategy by including more adult-oriented films and launching the Friday After Dark late-night block in 1984. The network also introduced original programming and series, including Second City Television, The Richard Belzer Show and The Max Headroom Show, as well as the freeform Cinemax Comedy Experiment. Music programming was also introduced, including Album Flash and Cinemax Sessions; some of these music programs were simulcast for free over a national FM radio network to provide stereo audio. In February 1988, the network premiere of Lethal Weapon became one of Cinemax's highest-rated broadcasts.
On March 4, 1989, Warner Communications announced its intent to merge with HBO's parent company, Time Inc., for $14.9 billion. Despite legal challenges from Paramount Communications, the merger was completed on January 10, 1990, creating Time Warner (later WarnerMedia, now Warner Bros. Discovery), which remains the parent company of Cinemax and HBO.
In August 1991, Cinemax, along with HBO, was among the first American pay TV services to introduce multiplexed channels. Starting in 1992, Cinemax reintroduced television series development with adult-oriented scripted series, such as Erotic Confessions, Hot Line, Passion Cove, Lingerie, and Co-Ed Confidential.
Cinemax was the exclusive premiere network of several blockbuster movies, such as GoodFellas and The Godfather Part III in 1991, Juice in 1993, The Fugitive in 1994, Any Given Sunday, Eyes Wide Shut, and The Matrix in 2000, and X-Men in 2002. From 1992 to 1997, Cinemax featured daily movie showcases centered on specific genres, identified by pictograms. This practice ended in September 1997, with Cinemax adopting a simplified branding strategy that included "Max Hits at 8" and "Max Prime at 10."
In February 1994, Cinemax, HBO, Showtime, and The Movie Channel introduced a content advisory system to inform viewers about program content. A revised system with content codes was implemented on June 10, 1994.
In 1998, Cinemax began offering "sneak preview" blocks for its multiplex channels, ActionMax and ThrillerMax. Classic films, once a staple of the Cinemax schedule, were increasingly featured on multiplex channels like 5StarMax.
In February 2011, Cinemax shifted its focus to original programming, launching series to compete with other premium services, all of which were very popular: Banshee, The Knick, Hunted, Strike Back. and to rebrand its image from being primarily known for softcore pornographic content. Cinemax shortened its name to just Max in 2008, but it was reverted 3 years later.
Following AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner in 2018, Cinemax's focus shifted significantly. Adult programming on Cinemax and HBO's multiplexes, as well as on-demand services, nearly disappeared due to increased availability of such content online and competition from other providers.
In January 2020, WarnerMedia announced that with the upcoming launch of HBO Max, Cinemax would cease commissioning original programming but would continue as a movie-focused service through existing distributors. Cinemax's original programming, although available internationally, was not included in HBO Max. Len Amato, the executive overseeing Cinemax and HBO's film and miniseries division, left WarnerMedia on August 14, 2020, marking the end of Cinemax's original programming efforts.
On May 17, 2021, AT&T and Discovery, Inc. announced a Reverse Morris Trust agreement, wherein WarnerMedia would spin-off from AT&T and merge with Discovery for $43 billion. This merger, completed in spring 2022, resulted in the formation of Warner Bros. Discovery, led by David Zaslav. On May 23, 2023, the merged company's streaming service was rebranded as Max. It would soon revert back to HBO Max on July 9, 2025.
Channels On May 8, 1991, Home Box Office Inc. announced plans to launch multiplexed companion channels for HBO and Cinemax, offering additional programming options at no extra charge. The test launch on August 1, 1991, introduced Cinemax 2, HBO2, and HBO3 (now HBO Signature) to select TeleCable customers, providing distinct programming from their parent channels. John K. Billock, HBO's EVP of marketing, cited subscriber dissatisfaction with program scheduling as a reason for the multiplex expansion. A November 1991 ACNielsen survey showed positive impacts from the multiplex channels, including reduced negative opinions on pricing and improved overall usage.
In February 1996, Home Box Office announced plans to expand to twelve channels, including two additional Cinemax channels and a fourth HBO channel, projected for a spring 1997 launch. The Cinemax multiplex expanded on December 1, 1996, with the launch of Cinemax 3, and the introduction of Mountain Time Zone feeds.
The Cinemax multiplex was marketed as "MultiChannel Cinemax" in September 1994, rebranded to "MultiMax" in April 1998, and later applied to the expanded four-channel package. This included MoreMax (formerly Cinemax 2), ActionMax (formerly Cinemax 3), and the new ThrillerMax channel.
On May 17, 2001, four additional themed channels were launched: OuterMax, WMax (later MovieMax), @Max (later Max Latino), and 5StarMax. Max Latino was rebranded as Cinemáx on April 1, 2015, mirroring the flagship Cinemax schedule with Spanish-language dubs. MovieMax started as a family-oriented channel and later focused on recent and classic movies.
List of channels
Cinemax offers up to five 24-hour multiplex channels, available in both standard and high definition, with regional feeds based on time zones. These channels include a subscription video-on-demand service, Cinemax on Demand. Maintenance periods, ranging from 30 minutes to two hours, occur monthly during early morning hours before the 6:00 a.m. ET/PT start of the broadcast day.
Cinemax, MoreMax and ActionMax transmit both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules. The time zone-based feeds are usually packaged together, resulting in a maximum three-hour difference in local airtimes between geographic locations. The opposite-region feed serves as a timeshift channel, allowing viewers to watch programs up to three hours later or four hours earlier than their local airtime. While most providers offer only the East and West Coast feeds of the main Cinemax channel, timeshifted feeds for other multiplex channels are available on platforms like DirecTV, YouTube TV, and Hulu + Live TV. Current channels Channel Description and programmingCinemax The main flagship feed; Cinemax features blockbuster movies, foreign, independent and arthouse films, first-run films, movie favorites and original programming. Cinemax commonly exclusively premieres new movies (debuting on the network within a lag of between eight months to one year on average from their initial theatrical release) on Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time as part of "See It Saturday" and broadcasts a featured movie Sunday through Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Cinemax also runs original series on Friday evenings at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Friday–Sunday are usually the days for exclusive and non-exclusive premieres or major blockbusters, as well as Saturday for programming events, and Sundays for series.Cinemax Hits Launched in 1991, Cinemax Hits (formerly Cinemax 2 and MoreMax) is a channel with similar program content as Cinemax on a separate schedule. The service broadcasts a featured movie every night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. MoreMax was originally named "Cinemax 2" until 1998. It originally used slightly different bumpers to distinguish itself from the original Cinemax, but by 1993, it had instead begun using a barebones "program grid" structure similar to the Prevue Channel (also used by Cinemax 3, as well as by sister networks HBO2 and HBO3). With the rebrand to MoreMax, it gained a full on-air look once more. This channel serves as a repeat of all the programs, so that people who missed premieres can get a second chance to watch it on here, 24 hours later. MoreMax rebranded as Cinemax Hits on September 4, 2025.Cinemax Action Launched in 1998, Cinemax Action (formerly Cinemax 3 and ActionMax) broadcasts action movies including blockbusters, westerns, war pictures, martial arts, horror and adventure films; the channel has a prime time film block, "Heroes at 8", which carries a featured action movie at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time nightly. ActionMax replaced "Cinemax 3", which existed from 1995 to 1997. ActionMax rebranded as Cinemax Action on September 4, 2025.Cinemax Classics Launched on May 17, 2001, Cinemax Classics (formerly 5StarMax) showcases modern classics, featuring award-winning films and timeless movie classics. The channel broadcasts a featured classic every night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It is the only Cinemax channel that did not air Max After Dark content. 5StarMax rebranded as Cinemax Classics on September 4, 2025.Cinemáx Cinemáx is a Spanish simulcast of Cinemax (similar to HBO Latino, although without any programming differences), broadcasting Spanish-dubbed Hollywood films and original series; all of Cinemax's other multiplex channels otherwise do carry Spanish film audio on the second audio program. The channel originally launched on May 17, 2001, as @Max, targeted at young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 with programming focused on contemporary films, and movies with an exemplified attitude and unique ideas; under its current format, the channel was known as MaxLatino from June 1, 2013, to April 1, 2015, when it adopted its parent network's branding (with the "a" utilizing an acute diacritic accent for pronunciation disambiguity).
Former channels