Spotlight (cable TV)

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Spotlight was a 24-hour premium movie channel launched in 1979, with the only non-movie programming being monthly previews of films airing on the channel. In 1980, Spotlight expanded its programming schedule to 24 hours a day, seven days per week. (Cinemax was 24/7 from the day it signed on, Showtime and The Movie Channel went to a 24-hour schedule earlier and HBO went to a 24-hour schedule a year later.)

A few factors led to the channel's original demise in 1986. The channel aired many of the same films as Showtime (although Spotlight, Showtime and HBO shared the same films usually featuring the same duplication in the same month with each other) and it was assumed that Spotlight was a sister network to Showtime before The Movie Channel was sold with Showtime to Viacom in 1985.