In a first for the U.S. market, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer will launch a movie channel on DirecTV (DTV). About 1,200 of the films will be offered in high definition.
The company has an overall film library of around 4,100 films, including the 1,200 High Definition films. United Artists and Orion films are part of the library as well.
Some films in the library won't be available until their syndication deals run out; The James Bond franchise being one of them.
"The growth of the MGM library and the further expansion of the MGM channels worldwide are the studio's primary objectives," Harry E. Sloan, MGM's chairman and chief executive said.
While MGM has branded channels in 120 countries, their first high-def channel was launched in Poland last year.
The company is in negotiations to try to bring a movie channel to cable and telecommunications TV providers also.
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