HBO (The Home Box Office)
Scheduling
HBO's schedule is divided between original programming and movies. HBO's premier original line-up airs Sunday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Normally this line-up consists of two half-hour comedies followed by one hour-long drama (or vice versa). Other original programming, such as talk/variety shows appear other nights during prime time. Special programs, such as miniseries, boxing events or HBO original films, appear during prime time at a heavily advertised date (usually during a weekend). Re-runs of original programming play frequently at different times. Often HBO will schedule a marathon of episodes from a series to let viewers stay up-to-date with the series. Because of the mature elements frequently present in HBO's original programming, it is rare that a series is sold into syndication. However, when this does occur (e.g. Sex and the City playing on TBS) the syndicated program will be edited to meet the regulations of the channel it is playing on.
Movies occupy the time in the schedule not taken by original programming. Feature films making their first appearance on television premier Friday and Saturday night. Usually films are played several times a day or week to give viewers multiple chances to watch a film (however DVR has diminished the importance of this feature). Additionally, HBO has an On Demand feature for much of its original programming.