Turner Classic Movies, commonly shortened to TCM, is one of the most famous cable channels in the world and is a must-own for any good cable package provider. The medium of film has been around for over 100 years and has a rich and wonderful history of many films and iconic artists. For many people, however, their film diet is exclusively modern films, with the oldest films likely a Disney animated film or one of the several Star Wars movies.
Yet in times like these when films come and go in an instant from the public mind, TCM has been a home for classic Hollywood films, preserving them for older audiences who miss the films of their youth, or as a gateway for a younger audience to discover some classics. It's entertaining, but also an educational tool and one of the best film schools for people interested in learning about cinema.
Updated July 18, 2023: This article has been updated to reflect up-to-date changes regarding TCM and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
TCM, like many networks, has had to evolve in recent years to capture a younger audience, and a recent change in context will hopefully usher the network into a new age, one that can reach a wider possible audience while also maintaining the aspects that have made the network a favorite among film lovers for years. As of right now the future of TCM is in question, but Hollywood's elites have spoken out and are doing what they can to preserve one of the most important and culturally prevalent networks out there.
TCM History
TCM was the brainchild of Ted Turner. In the '80s, Turner acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and their classic film library up to 1986. This library served as the base of TCM programming, and in 1996 after Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner, the network also gained the Warner Bros. library.
The first film broadcast on TCM was Gone With The Wind, when the channel launched at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on April 14, 1994; the time was chosen for its historical significance as the centennial anniversary of the first public movie showing in New York City. Since then the network has hosted a wide array of films from different studios, as a glimpse into the rich history of cinema.
TCM Schedule, Programming, and Format
TCM is a must-watch for film fans, as it specializes in classic films primarily before the 1980s, airing them commercial-free with special respect to filmmaking and the history of cinema. The brief breaks between the films offer promos for other programs or advertise their various products and merchandise like the TCM Wine Club which was founded in 2015 and offers mail-order wines from famous vineyards such as famed writer-director-producer Francis Ford Coppola's winery with special themed wines based on classic movies. TCM even shows old short films which had previously been lost to time during these breaks.
One of the most notable aspects of TCM is the various hosts who introduce the film before and discuss the film after. The most notable was Robert Osborne, who was with the network since it launched in 1994 and was there until 2016 as the face of the network until his passing on March 6, 2017. Osborne set the template for a TCM host; informative, welcoming, and passionate about cinema. He was eloquent and inviting, and people of any age would be comfortable listening to him talk about movies for hours. Current hosts include Ben Mankiewicz, Jacqueline Stewart, and Alicia Malone just to name a few, all of whom help provide an educational and informative setting to each film and make TCM more than a network; they make it a community.
The network also likes to hold special monthly themes in its TCM schedule, like a focus on a special star, a genre, and even seasonal blocks like the network's 31 Days of Oscars block, where the network puts special attention on Academy Award winners and nominees. They have weekly theme nights, such as Silent Sundays showcasing classic silent movies, and Noir Alley on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings, highlighting wonderful film noirs. On the other end of the cinematic spectrum, the network's the network's TCM Underground is a Friday late-night showcase for cult films, which was formerly hosted by Rob Zombie in an attempt to attract more young viewers to Turner's older-skewing audience.
TCM Streaming Attempts
In the past twelve years, audiences' viewership habits have changed, particularly among younger audiences who don't watch cable but instead stream movies. While Netflix has a vast catalog of films, its classic film collection has always been one that is sorely lacking for audiences to stream as the company favors modern films or their own originals. In an attempt to reach a younger audience, TCM launched its own streaming service in collaboration with the important Criterion Collection, titled FilmStruck in 2016. While positively viewed among film fans for its vast catalog of classic, international, and independent films, the streaming platform was the victim of TCM's parent company WarnerMedia's restructuring in the wake of being purchased by AT&T, and the service shut down operations on November 29, 2018.
Shortly after, it was announced that TCM would be one of the main hubs on the upcoming WarnerMedia streaming service, HBO Max, which launched on May 27, 2020. It is a great resource for many film fans to have access to classic Hollywood films alongside the regular HBO programming and DC material, and many of the network's important contextual pieces that would air before or after the films are part of each movie's extra feature on the app giving viewers the full TCM experience.
With all the shake-ups in recent months regarding the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery into Warner Bros. Discovery and the cancelation of many projects and the potential merger between HBO Max and Discovery+, there is no current word on TCM's future, but one imagines it will be an important pillar of the new combined streaming service.
TCM's 2021 Re-Brand: The Four C's
On September 1, 2021, TCM introduced a new logo and slogan, "Where Then Meets Now," in the network's first major rebranding since its launch. The new logo puts a special emphasis on the C (as The Criterion Collection does), which represents classics but now has new meanings. The new company-wide motto is the four C's: curation, context, connection, and culture.
While TCM has always been about film preservation and informing the audience, the films and the discussion have typically had a traditional white, male-centric lens. The network has broadened the hosts and their backgrounds, diversifying representation, and has attempted to branch out from the traditional film canon by bringing in films from varying places and time periods offering alternative points of view.
This change does two major things: it allows TCM to attract new viewers but also educate their existing audience on other topics, like showcasing lost hidden films or having difficult discussions. While the Hollywood Golden Age has a certain shine to it, there are ugly matters that need to be discussed and contextualized, like rampant racism and sexism; TCM does this frequently and has also created a platform exclusively for it with their series Reframed Classics. These conversations may be hard, but it is important and makes for a well-rounded film discussion.
TCM has been around for 28 years, and the network has changed quite a bit over time, but the core tenets of Turner Classic Movies remain the same and hopefully will be enjoyed by future generations to come, either as a link to the past or a hope for a more educated future.
TCM's 2023 Changes
TCM is much more than your grandparent's favorite network. It is the last stronghold for true cinema lovers. All the directors, actors, writers, and cinephiles get their daily dose of quality movies from TCM. As it appears to be a time machine to worse-looking films for many, those immersed in the world of cinema have a different eye and see the quality in the craftsmanship of these incredible films that shaped the world of movie-making and storytelling that we know today. Unfortunately, 2023 has seen some major changes for TCM, and while much of the public won't bat an eye, those who are lovers of all things film are deeply concerned about the future of TCM.
The challenge is that viewership will never be as high as mainstream networks due to the nature of TCM, so from a business perspective, maintaining TCM is a questionable move, and reflecting this, there was a massive staff layoff, possibly indicating what everyone fears the most. The first hint something was off was when TCM Underground, the weekly late-night cult film showcase, ceased on February 24, 2023.
Then on June 20, 2023, five senior executives were let go; this included the general manager Pola Changnon, lead programmer Genevieve McGillicuddy, and others. This sparked an outcry in the TCM community, with fans writing about TCM's cultural value to try and influence the public and also tweeting #SaveTCM. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav claims that the programming won't change. However, for a small network, its top executives are the heart and soul of TCM, so without them, it is hard to imagine something won't change.
Cinima's greats got involved just for this reason. Legendary directors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson all spoke with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav about their concerns and have offered to impart their expertise to help curate programming for TCM in hopes of keeping the network alive. Actor Ryan Reynolds took to Twitter, calling TCM "a holy corner of film history — and a living, breathing library for an entire art form." On June 23, 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery appointed Warner Bros. Pictures CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abby as heads of the network, and on June 28, Spielberg, Scorsese, and Anderson were said to be actively collaborating with De Luca and Abdy on the direction of the network.
What the future holds for TCM is unclear, but with the changes brought down on the network, the wrath of Hollywood was unleashed, and for now, it appears TCM isn't going anywhere.