LMN, an initialism for the Lifetime Movie Network, also known as Lifetime Movies,[1] is an American pay television network launched on June 29, 1998 and owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Entertainment division of The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Communications.[2]
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | New York, New York |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Parent | Lifetime Entertainment Services |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | June 29, 1998 |
| Former names | (Rebrandings section) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Streaming Services | Hulu with Live TV, Philo, Sling TV, Frndly TV, Vidgo |
| ClaroTV+ | (requires subscription to access content)
|
LMN carries movies and exclusive shows aimed at women, especially made for television movies. Many, though not all, of the movies that air on the network are Lifetime originals that were first shown on the flagship Lifetime channel; in turn, the network also premieres original films that are later broadcast on Lifetime. Until they ended their involvement in television films in the early 2000s, the network's earliest programming consisted of movies originally meant for broadcast networks.
As of November 2023[update], LMN is available to approximately 47,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2013 peak of 85,000,000 households.[3]
An Australian version of the channel launched on September 1, 2020 through Foxtel.[4]
History
editThe network launched on June 29, 1998, as Lifetime Movie Network, a digital cable and direct broadcast satellite extension of its main network.[5] Variety praised the move as "capitalizing on the expected channel boom from TV’s conversion to digital distribution over the next few years."[6] However, it only reached 3 million of the 70 million pay-television subscribers in the U.S. at the time.[7]
The original format of the network consisted of longer blocks of made-for-television movies with limited commercial interruptions, airing twice a day. As the network grew and broadcast networks ceased producing made-for-TV movies, more commercial breaks were added during its film content. The network also added theatrical film releases to its schedule. The network airs different movies each day, although the movies aired at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. ET each day are re-aired at 12:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. (9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. PT).
On April 19, 2009, the broadcast of Natalee Holloway attracted 3.2 million viewers for the network, more than 1 million of which were among the demographic of women aged 18–49, garnering the highest ratings in the network's history at that time.[8] On August 27, 2009, A+E Networks acquired Lifetime Entertainment Services, which was jointly owned by the former's corporate parents The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Corporation in conjunction with NBCUniversal (which sold its interest to the two other companies in 2011).[9][10]
On October 13, 2013, the network debuted its first original series, the reality-based murder mystery program Killer Profile.[11] In addition, three series that had previously aired on sister network The Biography Channel – The Haunting Of, I Survived... and Celebrity Ghost Stories – also moved to LMN that year. In March 2014, A+E Networks moved the drama series Those Who Kill to LMN, becoming the first scripted series to air on the network, although it solely moved to LMN to burn off the remaining episodes of the low-rated A&E program.[12]
Rebrandings
editOver its 26-year history, the network has vacillated its main branding several times, usually alternating between its full name of Lifetime Movie Network and their initials of LMN depending on the network's marketing plan at the time of the name change. The network's branding history is as follows:
- Lifetime Movie Network (June 29, 1998 – March 2006; June 2008 – 2011)
- LMN (March 2006 – June 2008; 2011 – July 10, 2017; November 1, 2019 – present)
- Lifetime Movies (July 11, 2017 – October 31, 2019)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "A+E Networks – Life is Entertaining". Aenetworks.com. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- ^ "About Lifetime". Lifetime. April 10, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
- ^ "U.S. cable network households (universe), 1990 – 2023". wrestlenomics.com. May 14, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ "Foxtel launches Lifetime Movie Network". Mumbrella. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- ^ Lifetime Entertainment Services History. International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 32. St. James Press, 2000. Hosted on Funding Universe.com. Retrieved on December 4, 2013.
- ^ "New Lifetime Channel to Center on Made-Fors." Variety, November 24, 1997. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
- ^ Katz, Richard. "Lifetime Exec Exodus." Variety, July 21, 1999. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
- ^ Kissel, Rick (April 20, 2009). "Lifetime Movie scores with 'Holloway". Variety.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (August 27, 2009). "A&E Acquires Lifetime". Variety. Archived from the original on February 24, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
- ^ Atkinson, Claire (August 27, 2009). "A&E Networks, Lifetime Merger Completed". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (September 24, 2013). "LMN Premieres First Original Series 'Killer Profile' on Sunday October 13 at 9 AM". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 25, 2014). "Benched A&E Drama Series 'Those Who Kill' To Air On Sibling LMN". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 26, 2014.