Star Wars Movies Coming to Turner TV
by EG
In a massive deal, Turner has paid Disney hundreds of millions of dollars for the right to air Star Wars movies on its cable networks. The deal is said to be the biggest ever for movie rights being sold to an ad-supported network. The first wave of Star Wars film will air on TNT within a week.
The deal with Disney gives Turner the right to broadcast all but the first film in the franchise, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and a separate deal with 20th Century Fox gives Turner the same rights to the first film. The deal only applies to the broadcast of the films on an ad-supported network or on an ad-supported video-on-demand service. Disney's prior deals with Starz and Netflix give those services the exclusive rights to show Star Wars films ad-free; Starz owns the ad-free rights to Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and Netflix holds the ad-free streaming rights to upcoming Star Wars films.
Of course, the ad-interrupted versions of the films on Turner's networks will be less appealing to viewers than the ad-free versions on the other services, but Turner's quick turn-around time will bring the films to the small screen well before they show up elsewhere.
TNT will begin airing the films less than a week from now. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace will begin a six-night marathon on September 20, and the marathon will conclude with Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi on September 25.