Z Channel Information & Z Channel Links at HealthHaven.com

**Z Channel**
Type	Pay television network
Availability	United States
Key people	Jerry Harvey
Launch date	1974

For other uses, see Z Channel (disambiguation).

The Z Channel was one of the first pay cable stations in the United States. Launched in 1974 from Los Angeles, California, this station was known for its devotion to the art of cinema due to the eclectic choice of films^[1] by the programming chief, Jerry Harvey. It also popularized the use of letterboxing on television, as well as showing 'director's cut' versions of films (which is a term popularized after Z Channel's showing of Heaven's Gate). Z Channel's devotion to cinema and choice of rare and important films had an important influence on such directors as Robert Altman, Quentin Tarantino, and Jim Jarmusch. In 1989, Z Channel faded to black^[2] and was replaced by SportsChannel Los Angeles.^[3]

The channel was the subject of the 2004 documentary Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession, which was directed by Alexandra Cassavetes, daughter of John Cassavetes.

[edit] Live wrestling events

In the late 1980s, Z Channel broadcast a number of the World Wrestling Federation's live events from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, but nowhere near as many as Madison Square Garden (MSG Network), Boston Garden (New England Sports Network) or the Philadelphia Spectrum (PRISM).

[edit] Connections with other subscription services and channels

Although it is widely believed that, in the late 1970s, Z Channel created two subscription services (SelecTV & ON TV) and a sports channel (Prime Ticket), the reality was that SelecTV and ON TV were separate entities, using the facilities of local television stations KWHY and KBSC to broadcast scrambled programming to reach households without cable. Prime Ticket was actually a later name for the Z Channel's successor, SportsChannel Los Angeles, which was a result of later owners gradually replacing the movie programming with local sports.

[edit] Prime Ticket

Prime Ticket eventually was sold to the Fox Television Stations Group, parent company of KTTV, which had lost Los Angeles Dodgers rights after the 1992 baseball season. An affiliate of the Prime Sports network, Prime Ticket became "Fox Sports West" when Prime Sports became Fox Sports Net in 1997. The Prime Ticket name was revived on April 3, 2006, when the network's additional outlet, then known as FSN West 2, changed its name to FSN Prime Ticket, and in a 2008 re-branding, back to simply PrimeTicket.

[edit] Some notable films shown on Z Channel

8½ (1963), Federico Fellini
The 400 Blows (1959), François Truffaut
1900 (1976), shown in its 5-hour form for the first time in the U.S. on this station; the 5-hour cut wasn't released on video in the U.S. until 1992, Bernardo Bertolucci
A Safe Place (1971), Henry Jaglom
Andrei Rublev (1969), Andrei Tarkovsky
Attilas '74 (1975), Michael Cacoyannis
Bad Timing (1980), in its uncut form
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980), Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Black Orpheus (1959), Marcel Camus
Das Boot (1981), in its theatrical, director's cut, and mini-series versions, Wolfgang Petersen
The Blue Angel (1930)
Children of Paradise (1945), Marcel Carné
China 9, Liberty 37 (1978), Monte Hellman / Tony Brandt
College (1927), James W. Horne
The Divine Nymph (1975), Giuseppe Patroni Griffi
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981), Penelope Spheeris
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Stanley Kubrick
Eraserhead (1977)
Fingers (1978 film) (1978), James Toback
Fitzcarraldo (1982), Werner Herzog
Heaven's Gate (1980), in its 219-minute cut, Michael Cimino
Images (film) (1972), Robert Altman
In a Lonely Place (1950), Nicholas Ray
Juliet of the Spirits (1965), Federico Fellini
La Cicala (1980), Alberto Lattuada
La Notte (1961), Michelangelo Antonioni
La Strada (1954), Federico Fellini
Lady on the Bus (1978), Neville De Almedia
L'Avventura (1960), Michelangelo Antonioni
Le Magnifique (1973), Philippe de Broca
The Leopard (1963), in its longer Italian-language version unreleased on video in the U.S. until 2003, Luchino Visconti
L'important c'est d'aimer (1975), Andrzej Zulawski
Mädchen in Uniform (1931), Leontine Sagan
Malizia, (1973), Salvatore Samperi
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1973), Robert Altman
The Moon's Our Home (1936), William Seiter
My Darling Clementine (1946), John Ford
Once Upon a Time in America (1984), shown back to back in its severely cut two-hour version, and Leone's 229-minute director's cut, Sergio Leone
One Deadly Summer (1983), Jean Becker
Overlord (1975)
Pandora's Box (1929), G.W. Pabst
The Passenger (1975), Michelangelo Antonioni
Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (1973), Sam Peckinpah
Paths of Glory (1957), Stanley Kubrick
The Red Desert (1964), Michelangelo Antonioni
Ride the High Country (1962), Sam Peckinpah
Salvador (1986), Oliver Stone
The Sicilian (1987), shown in its extended form, which didn't come out on video until the early 1990s, Michael Cimino
Silver Streak (1976), Arthur Hiller
Something of Value (1957), Richard Brooks
Spetters (1980), Paul Verhoeven
Turkish Delight (1973), Paul Verhoeven
Welcome to L.A. (1976), Alan Rudolph
Wifemistress, (1978), Marco Vicario
The Wild Bunch (1969), Sam Peckinpah

[edit] References

^ "Film-News and Notes." Daily News of Los Angeles October 3, 1986
^ "Z Channel Fading To Black Amid Film Industry Tributes." The Hollywood Reporter April 27, 1989
^ "Hollywood Freeway." Daily News of Los Angeles June 26, 1989

[edit] External links

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession at the IMDB

[la001-0] "Film-News and Notes." Daily News of Los Angeles October 3, 1986

[hr001-1] "Z Channel Fading To Black Amid Film Industry Tributes." The Hollywood Reporter April 27, 1989

[la002-2] "Hollywood Freeway." Daily News of Los Angeles June 26, 1989

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