Epix
Epix is an American premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by Epix Entertainment LLC, a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The channel's programming consists of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures, original television series, documentaries, and music and comedy specials.
Launched in October 2009, Epix is the youngest of the major premium television channels in the United States, and is currently led by President Michael Wright. Since he joined the network in November 2017, Epix has announced many new series including Godfather of Harlem starring Forest Whitaker, Pennyworth, the origin story of Batman's butler Alfred, Perpetual Grace, LTD starring Ben Kingsley and Jimmi Simpson, Deep State, unscripted series Unprotected Sets executive produced by Wanda Sykes and the return of The Contender.
Epix and, depending on the carriage of any of the latter services, its three multiplex channels are sold by most traditional multichannel video programming distributors either as premium services or as part of a la carte digital movie tiers as well as by over-the-top MVPDs Sling TV, AT&T TV and YouTube TV.
The service is also sold direct-to-consumer through a proprietary streaming service Epix Now, and via a la carte subscriptions independent of a traditional pay television platform sold by Apple TV Channels and Amazon Video Channels. Each digital platform provides a library of video on demand content and live streams of the linear Epix television channels.
Background
has been involved in the pay television industry since the 1950s. From 1953 to 1961, Paramount owned Telemeter, an ambitious but expensive theater television system that transmitted using closed circuitry – as opposed to broadcast frequencies – over which customers could purchase broadcasts by inserting coins into a collection box.In April 1980, Paramount, MCA/Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox partnered with Getty Oil to jointly develop a pay cable service called Premiere. The proposed channel would have maintained exclusive first-run rights to newer feature films distributed by each of the studios, along with carrying films cherry-picked from other studios without any exclusivity. Displeased that the venture would likely give the four studios disproportionate control of the pay television marketplace, Time-Life, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment and Viacom/TelePrompTer proceeded to file an antitrust lawsuit against the studios with the U.S. Justice Department later that year. After reviewing the case, the Justice Department issued an injunction blocking Premiere's planned January 1, 1981 launch, deeming the venture to be an illegal boycott of the existing pay services that would subject them to possible financial damage if its presence resulted in price fixing of film titles. Paramount, MCA, Fox and Columbia decided to scrap the venture after the ruling was handed down.
In August 1982, MCA/Universal and Gulf+Western reached an agreement with Warner Communications to each acquire 25% interests in The Movie Channel, a struggling pay service then-owned by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, a cable television venture of Warner and American Express that would retain the remaining 25%. This proposal was driven by the studios wanting to increase revenue received from licensing their films to premium television services, and industry concerns that dominant premium service HBO would hold undue negotiating power for these rights through its acquisitions of film titles prior to their theatrical release. In January 1983, the proposal was amended to include Viacom International, which proposed to consolidate The Movie Channel and Showtime into one unit. Four of the partners would respectively own 22.58% of both networks, with American Express owning the remaining 9.68%. As with the earlier Premiere proposal, the Justice Department subjected the proposal to regulatory scrutiny as Warner, Universal and Paramount received 50% of their respective total revenue from film releases and licensing fees from premium services; the 30% share that would be held by the Showtime-TMC combination would have also formed an oligopoly in the pay cable market with HBO and Cinemax.
The proposal was revised twice to address these issues and others cited by HBO executives in responses to a civil antitrust lawsuit against the Showtime-Movie Channel merger that was filed by the Justice Department on June 10, 1983. This culminated in Paramount and Universal being dropped from the partnership in the final revision submitted on July 28, 1983; Warner Communications, Viacom and Warner-Amex became the only partners remaining in the proposal, which a Justice Department memorandum cited would "prevent any anti-competitive effect from arising," currying the Department's formal approval of the proposal on August 13. Shortly afterward, Paramount signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Showtime, which had already maintained a licensing deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that gave the service exclusive pay cable rights to MGM's films.
Both of Showtime's tenures with Paramount ended in acrimony. In the spring of 1989, Paramount struck an exclusive licensing agreement with HBO; subsequently that May, Paramount filed a lawsuit against Showtime Networks, its parent Viacom, and the corporate parent of both entities, National Amusements over Showtime's alleged refusal to pay a total of $88 million in fees for five films – all of which had underperformed in their theatrical release – to reduce the minimum liability for its 75-film package from the studio. Showtime regained first-run pay cable rights to Paramount's films through a seven-year distribution deal signed in May 1995, in a byproduct of Viacom's merger with Paramount Pictures parent Paramount Communications the year prior; this agreement gave the services of Showtime Networks – Showtime, The Movie Channel and Flix – exclusive rights to all films released by the studio from 1997 onward starting in January 1998, following the expiration of Paramount's contract with HBO.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed an exclusive first-run premium cable rights agreement with Showtime in 1981, encompassing the studio's films and releases through its United Artists subsidiary; Showtime and MGM renewed this agreement in April 1985, September 1993, and in April 2000. The 2000 renewal deal also included a production development agreement to produce three original series – which would end up consisting of Dead Like Me, The L Word and the short-lived – for Showtime between 2003 and 2007. By 2002, after that studio finished a long-term distribution pact with HBO and Cinemax, Lions Gate Entertainment joined Paramount and MGM as Showtime's major film suppliers. Paramount's distribution contract with Showtime expired in January 2008, three years after the original Viacom corporate structure was split into two standalone companies within the National Amusements umbrella: a successor entity that adopted the Viacom name, which took over Paramount's operations and select other divisions including the original entity's basic cable channels, and CBS Corporation, which – among the few properties it kept from its pre-split entity – retained ownership of Showtime Networks; MGM and Lions Gate's respective contracts with Showtime subsequently expired at the end of that year.
History
Development and launch
The formation of Epix was announced on April 21, 2008, after individual negotiations between Paramount Pictures, MGM, and Lionsgate with Showtime to renew their existing film output deals broke down; each of the three studios disagreed with Showtime over the licensing fee rates for which they wanted Showtime to compensate them to allow future releases to air on the Showtime Networks services. In December 2008, the three studios – which named their jointly owned holding company for the channel, Studio 3 Partners – selected the name "Epix" for their premium linear television and on-demand service; the partnership formally announced the launch of Epix at the National Association of Television Program Executives Convention on January 27, 2009. Mark Greenberg – who previously served as a marketing executive at HBO, executive vice president of Showtime, and managing director of management and consulting firm MSCGI – created the business plan and strategy, then partnered with the Lionsgate/MGM/Paramount consortium to build and launch the network. Greenberg served as the founding president and chief executive officer of Epix, leading it from its creation in early 2008 through its acquisition by MGM, until he stepped down after a nine-year tenure in September 2017.The network would focus on both recent feature films from Paramount, MGM/United Artists and Lionsgate as well as library content from each of the studios. Within weeks of its October 2009 launch, Epix signed exclusive first-run film content agreements with two additional studios: one with Samuel Goldwyn Films to broadcast a package of 20 recent and forthcoming theatrical movies from the studio, and another to carry a package of 22 recent and forthcoming feature films from independent film studio Roadside Attractions. Studio 3 Partners chose the Viacom subdivision MTV Networks to provide operational support, marketing services and affiliate distribution for the channel.
Though Epix was first announced by Studio 3 Partners as strictly a premium service, it eventually began to seek distribution as a hybrid premium/digital basic channel, although its programming would be presented without editing for airtime or objectionable content and without commercial advertising. The channel also reportedly sought a monthly license fee of $1 to $1.50 per subscriber from prospective providers. Epix reached its first carriage agreement on July 28, 2009, when it signed a deal with Verizon FiOS. In contrast, that August, two months prior to the channel's launch, three major pay television providers – cable providers Comcast and Cablevision, and satellite provider DirecTV – each formally announced that they would not carry Epix. DirecTV said regarding its decision not to carry the channel: "We think there are enough out there already, we don't see the value of adding another movie channel."
On August 28, 2009, Epix offered a free preview to Verizon FiOS subscribers, showing select films that would be offered by the channel upon its formal debut. During this preview, Epix added between five and seven movie selections every three days from the libraries of its three major studio backers, including the premium cable premieres of the 2008 releases Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Cloverfield. On September 25, 2009, the channel announced plans to launch an expanded online video on demand service – to be known as the "Epix MegaPlex" – that began offering a minimum of 3,000 film titles beginning in the summer of 2010, in comparison to the approximately 200 titles that the basic Epix online VOD service would include in its library upon the streaming service's official October 2010 launch. Epix's online offering includes over 3,000 titles for streaming, available to all subscribers through the network's apps and Epix.com; as a result, Epix offers a wider library of movies for streaming than the combined offerings by the streaming service of its premium network competitors. The network continues to expand its VOD selection through cable, satellite and telco operators; however, it does not include more than 150 to 200 titles per month due to the bandwidth constraints of these systems.
The Epix television service officially launched at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 30, 2009 on Verizon FiOS systems, becoming the first U.S. premium cable channel to debut since Liberty Media and Tele-Communications, Inc. launched Starz 15 years earlier on February 1, 1994. The first program to air on the channel was the film Iron Man, followed by the concert special Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour: Live from Buenos Aires. Initially a single channel service, Epix was offered to subscribers of Verizon FiOS – which carried the channel for free during its debut weekend – for $9.99 per month. Epix also provided customers – including those that were not Verizon FiOS subscribers – free previews of the online service each weekend through the end of November 2009, permitting access to the website's film content using invite codes given on a first come, first served basis.
Expansion
reached a carriage deal with Epix on January 9, 2010, the linear channel's standard and high definition feeds, along with its video on demand and online streaming platforms, were added to Cox's systems throughout the U.S. on April 1, 2010. Mediacom signed a carriage agreement with Epix on January 14, 2010.On April 19, 2010, Epix gained its first national pay television distribution partner when Dish Network announced that it would immediately begin carrying the channel as part of its "PlatinumHD" package; Subsequently, Epix launched its first two multiplex channels on the satellite provider during the 2010 calendar year: EPIX2 debuted first on May 12, followed by the August 11 debut of The 3 From Epix, which mainly carried movies released from the 1970s to the present. Dish Network would expand its relationship with Epix on February 16, 2015, as part of a carriage renewal agreement which made all four Epix channels available to subscribers of its over-the-top television service Sling TV as an add-on premium service, along with access to Epix's on-demand film and original programming content; Sling added Epix on March 4, 2015, with the four-channel multiplex being made available as part of the launch of its “Hollywood Extra” programming tier.
On April 29, 2010, Charter Communications began carrying Epix as a package that offers both the channel's video on demand content in standard and high definition, along with online streaming for $10 per month. On August 10, 2010, Netflix announced that it had reached an exclusive licensing deal with Epix, allowing subscribers of the streaming service to access movie titles released by Epix's content distributors to which the channel holds television and primary streaming rights. Titles to which Netflix gained access became available on the service less than one month later on September 1, 2010, with some newer films being released on Netflix within 90 days of their premiere on the Epix television and streaming services. On December 31 of that year, Suddenlink Communications reached an agreement with Viacom to carry Epix as part of an overall extension of its agreement to carry channels that the media company owned through its MTV Networks division.
On September 4, 2012, following the expiration of an exclusivity clause in the Netflix agreement that allowed Epix to license streaming rights to the channel's film titles to competing services, Epix entered into a three-year agreement with Amazon to provide film content on its Prime Video streaming service. Films appear on both Amazon and Netflix after the same 90-day delay period following their Epix debut.
Since its inception, Epix was among the first subscription television services to institute TV Everywhere capabilities; it was the first premium network to make its films available for streaming, and was the first premium network to make its program content available on Roku devices, Xbox consoles, and the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita gaming devices, and – by way of an app released on November 7, 2013, through a distribution agreement that Studio 3 reached with Sony Corporation to release apps on its precessor consoles on January 3 of that year – PlayStation 4.
On June 2, 2014, Bright House Networks – which had its carriage agreements negotiated on their behalf by Time Warner Cable, prior to its November 2016 merger with Charter Communications – added the Epix multiplex, with all four channels being offered to its subscribers in a three-month free preview upon its initial rollout. The following month on July 14, Epix signed a multi-platform distribution agreement with AT&T U-verse, in which the channel's content would be made available to subscribers through the website and apps of both Epix and U-verse, as well as on AT&T on Demand. On March 4, 2014, Time Warner Cable, one of the cable providers that initially declined to carry the channel, announced that it had reached an agreement with Viacom to begin carrying Epix and its multiplex channels effective March 18.
On August 31, 2015, Epix announced that it had signed a multi-year nonexclusive licensing contract in which Hulu would obtain the partial streaming rights to its feature film content. As a consequence of this agreement, Netflix announced that it would not renew its licensing agreement with Epix; all films from Epix that were made available on Netflix's streaming queue through the preceding agreement were removed when the contract expired at the end of September.
MGM buyout of Paramount and Lionsgate's interests
The future of Epix was placed into question through transactions involving Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate during the latter half of 2016. On June 30, 2016, Lionsgate agreed to acquire Starz Inc. for $4.4 billion in cash and stock. Subsequently, on September 29, 2016, National Amusements CEO Shari Redstone sent a memorandum to executives at CBS Corporation and Viacom, intending to open negotiations for the two companies to re-consolidate into a single entity that would have likely included CBS's Showtime Networks unit among its properties; however on December 12, National Amusements rescinded the merger proposal, citing disagreements over valuation estimates of Viacom and Les Moonves' requests to maintain the relative managerial autonomy that he then held as CEO of CBS Corporation, should he be installed to head the merged company.At an investor's gathering in early January 2017, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer implied that it would explore strategic options regarding its stake in Epix – including a possible sale that would allow it to focus on Starz, of which Lionsgate completed its purchase on December 8, 2016, Feltheimer stated that Epix "is very valuable and throwing off cash," and that Viacom and MGM would "realize the value which ever way we all decide is best for our companies." Financial analysts estimated that Epix would be valued between $1 billion and $2 billion. On January 26, confidential sources with Studio 3 Partners confirmed to Reuters that Lionsgate had entered into discussions to sell its 31% stake in Epix to MGM and Paramount/Viacom; if a deal was reached, the two remaining partners would have become 50-50 partners in Epix.
On March 9, 2017, Reuters reported that MGM was in discussions to buy out the interests in Epix held by Lionsgate and Viacom. These discussions culminated in a formal deal announced on April 5, 2017, in which MGM, Viacom and Lionsgate announced that they had reached an agreement for MGM to acquire Paramount/Viacom and Lionsgate's combined 80.91% interests – totaling 49.76% and 31.15%, respectively – in Epix for $1.032 billion. On May 11, 2017, MGM announced that it had completed its acquisition of Viacom and Lionsgate's 80.9% interest in Epix, giving it full control over the premium network.
Under MGM control, Epix continued to expand its distribution to conventional pay television providers that originally declined to offer the channel, plugging much of the remaining gaps in its national distribution coverage. On November 28, 2017, MGM reached a long-term carriage agrement with Comcast to offer Epix as a premium add-on for X1 video subscribers and users of its Xfinity Stream app; Epix began to be carried on Xfinity systems on June 13, 2019. Comcast later expanded availability of Epix to act as a premium replacement for Starz on most of its Xfinity TV video bundles effective December 4. On April 12, 2019, MGM reached an agreement with YouTube TV to offer the four Epix linear channels as a premium add-on tier as well as provide access to Epix's VOD content to subscribers of the virtual MVPD service who receive the network.
On May 5, 2019, Epix and AT&T announced that Epix would be added to DirecTV effective May 19, making the satellite provider the last major American pay television provider to begin offering the service.. The agreement also stated that Epix would be available on companion virtual MVPD service DirecTV Now, which began offering the Epix multiplex on August 8, 2019. On June 7, 2019, through an agreement between MGM and Amazon, Epix was added to Prime Video Channels as a premium add-on available to Prime Video subscribers.
Channels
List of channels
Depending on the service provider, Epix provides up to eight multiplex channels – four 24-hour multiplex channels, all of which are simulcast in both standard definition and high definition – as well as a subscription video-on-demand service.Two of the multiplex channels – EPIX2 and EPIX Hits – maintain less extensive distribution than that of the primary Epix channel; as such, the availability of any of the two channels varies depending on the carrier. Epix broadcasts its primary channel on both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules, while its multiplex channels are programmed solely on an Eastern Time Zone schedule.
| Channel | Description and programming |
| EPIX | The flagship channel; Epix airs blockbuster movies, original series, documentaries, and comedy and music specials. The network's high definition network broadcasts in the 1080i format, and all four networks listed below are downconverted to a 480i standard definition simulcast version on most wireline providers. |
| EPIX2 | Epix's secondary channel; it offers additional movies and specials, as well as repeats of original series and documentaries seen on the primary channel. The channel launched on May 12, 2010 and is available to subscribers of Xfinity, Atlantic Broadband, Cox Communications, AT&T U-verse, AT&T TV/TV Now, Charter Spectrum, OrbyTV, EPB Fiber Optics, Dish Network, Sling TV, DirecTV, YouTube TV and Verizon FiOS. |
| EPIX Hits | Epix Hits features recent and older theatrical feature films and documentaries, as well as original stand-up comedy and music specials previously seen on the main channel. Unlike the primary Epix channel and Epix 2, Epix Hits does not air Epix's scripted original programs, although it occasionally offers past episodes of the network's unscripted series. Chronologically, Epix Hits – originally known as EPIX3 until August 31, 2015 – debuted on January 1, 2012, technically being the fourth multiplex channel of Epix to launch. It is currently available to subscribers of Xfinity, Cox Communications, AT&T U-verse, AT&T TV/TV Now, Charter Spectrum, DirecTV, YouTube TV, OrbyTV, EPB Fiber Optics, Dish Network and Sling TV. |
| EPIX Drive-In | Formatted as a movie-centric service, Epix Drive-In focuses on action, comedy, science fiction, fantasy and horror films from the 1970s to the present. Chronologically, the channel – originally known as The 3 From Epix until December 31, 2011 – originally debuted on August 11, 2010, as the third multiplex channel of Epix to launch. Epix Drive-In is currently available to subscribers of Xfinity, Cox Communications, AT&T U-verse, AT&T TV/TV Now, YouTube TV, Charter Spectrum, OrbyTV, EPB Fiber Optics, Dish Network and Sling TV. |
ScreenPix
ScreenPix is an American premium cable television network that is owned by Epix Entertainment LLC, a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Developed as a spin-off of Epix, the channel's programming consists of older theatrically released motion pictures, as well as a limited schedule of acquired classic television series.On December 12, 2019, Epix launched ScreenPix, a companion movie-based premium channel developed similarly to rival movie-oriented pay services operated by HBO, Showtime and Starz. ScreenPix relies on movie classics from the 1960s to the 1990s from the libraries of MGM, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and The Samuel Goldwyn Company/Samuel Goldwyn Films, which are presented uncut and without commercial interruption.
Initially available exclusively to Xfinity subscribers, the channel was developed by Epix/MGM through an expansion of Epix's existing carriage agreement with Comcast that granted the flagship service extended distribution on Xfinity channel bundles, with the launch of ScreenPix coinciding with the addition of its parent network's three multiplex channels to the Xfinity lineup.
Channels
ScreenPix consists of a generalized primary channel and three thematic multiplex channels:| Channel | Description and programming |
| ScreenPix | The general-format "flagship" feed; ScreenPix focuses on a broad array of theatrical movies of box office and critical acclaim released between the 1960s and the 1990s. |
| ScreenPix Action | ScreenPix Action focuses on action, adventure, horror and martial arts films. |
| ScreenPix Westerns | ScreenPix Westerns features a mix of classic Western movies from the 1960s through the 1990s, as well as selected reruns of popular western series from the 1950s to the 1970s. Due to its carriage of a limited schedule of Western series from the 1950s to the 1970s, it is currently the only ScreenPix channel that currently airs series programming. |
| ScreenPix Voices | ScreenPix Voices is a channel dedicated to scripted and documentary films with "bold perspectives" by filmmakers of diverse ethnic backgrounds. |
Other services
Epix HD (online streaming)
EPIX HD is the network's online on-demand service that is available on Epix.com, and also through apps for Android devices and Android TV, Apple iOS and Apple TV, Chromecast, Microsoft Xbox, the Roku streaming player, select Samsung Smart TV models, and Sony PlayStation consoles.Live simulcasts of the four networks are also available to subscribers, depending on platform or mode of access. Epix launched its on-demand streaming service to the public on October 29, 2009, one day before the launch of the linear channel. The service requires a subscription to one of the channel's participating television providers in order to access program content.
Epix Now
Epix Now is an over-the-top subscription streaming service from Epix available online and through apps for Android tablets, phones and Android TV devices, Apple iOS and Apple TV devices, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. On February 22, 2018, MGM announced plans to launch an OTT streaming service to be sold directly to non-subscribers of the linear Epix service, alongside plans for 4K HDR streaming for their films on its Apple TV app.Epix Now was officially launched on Apple iOS, Apple TV and Android devices on February 10, 2019; apps for Roku and Fire TV devices were launched on March 28, and for Android TV devices on May 31, 2019. Epix Now offers on-demand access to feature films from the network's content partners, a back catalog of episodes of current and former Epix original series, documentaries produced for Epix and through its third-party content partners, and stand-up comedy and music specials. The service also offers live streams of all four Epix multiplex channels, and offline viewing of app content via direct download.
Epix On Demand
Epix On Demand is Epix's television video on demand service that is available to the channel's subscribers at no additional cost. It offers feature films from Epix's distribution partners and the network's original series, as well as original concert and stand-up comedy specials that were previously seen on the network. Epix On Demand's rotating program selection incorporates select new titles that are added each Friday, alongside existing program titles held over from the previous one to two weeks. It is available to Epix subscribers of, among other providers, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Dish Network, Mediacom, Sling TV, and Verizon FiOS.Programming
Movie library
Epix currently has exclusive deals with major and smaller independent movie studios., films featured on the channel primarily include recent releases and film library content from two of the network's original corporate parents—current Epix parent Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, ViacomCBS-owned Paramount Pictures, and Lions Gate Entertainment —in addition to feature films from Samuel Goldwyn Films and Roadside Attractions.Since June 2019, the channel also carries sub-licensed library movie product from Sony Pictures Entertainment ; the Sony library deal encompasses Epix's three multiplex services, Epix 2, Epix Hits and Epix Drive-In, and was extended to include sister service ScreenPix upon its December 2019 debut.
Although Lionsgate acquired Summit Entertainment in January 2012, that studio maintains an existing film output deal with rival HBO, which began in 2013 through an initial five-year deal covering all Summit releases through 2017; Summit renewed the HBO contract for four additional years on March 1, 2016, and as such, Summit's films are also restricted from airing on the networks of Lionsgate-owned competitor Starz. On June 11, 2019, Lionsgate signed a two-year exclusive first-run distribution deal with Walt Disney Company-controlled Hulu and FX to take effect following the expiration of Epix's contract with Lionsgate at the end of 2019; under the deal, in which Epix will retain pay-cable/streaming rights to films released by the studio prior to December 31, 2019, Lionsgate's 2020 and 2021 theatrical releases will be made available on Hulu and FX between the second half of 2020 and 2021, before the studio transitions back into a traditional pay-cable window via Lionsgate-owned Starz in 2022.
The window between a film's initial release in theaters and its initial airing on Epix is stated to be slightly reduced in comparison to the grace period between its theatrical release and its first pay television broadcast on either HBO/Cinemax, Showtime or Starz; as such, films will have a longer broadcast duration during their term of license agreement than is currently possible with the other major premium channels. Epix's programming format is similar to that of the primary channel of Starz Encore, in that its schedule includes recent film releases that are interspersed with older movies released between the 1970s and the 1990s, with recently released films often scheduled alongside the older film titles during daytime and prime time slots.
Original programming
Prior to the network's launch, Epix ordered its first original series pilot Tough Trade. The drama, created by Jenji Kohan, was to have centered on three generations of a dysfunctional family involved in country music. The pilot was filmed in late summer 2009 in Nashville, with the intent of being picked up to series for a 2010 debut; however, Epix declined to greenlight Tough Trade for a series order. The network's first original comedy special, Lewis Black's Stark Raving Black, premiered on the channel on December 5, 2009.Laverne McKinnon, resigned from her role as executive vice president of original programming and development for Epix on August 4, 2011. Thereafter, Epix remained active in producing other original programming exclusively for the channel, including documentaries, sports, comedy, and music specials. On June 30, 2012, Epix launched a monthly comedy special showcase called "EPIX Comedy Unbound", consisting of a new special premiering on the final weekend of each month; the first special to be aired as part of the showcase was Jim Norton: Please Be Offended.
In early 2015, Epix renewed its original scripted programming efforts after a four-year embargo, emphasizing development of drama series. These plans were cemented on January 12, 2015, when Epix hired Jocelyn Diaz – who, immediately prior to her appointment, had served as vice president of production at The Walt Disney Studios, and was previously head of drama development at HBO – as its executive vice president of original programming and development.
On July 8 of that year, Epix announced its first original scripted project to be picked up as a series, both of which are set for a fall 2016 debut: Graves, a political satire from Lionsgate Television and creator Joshua Michael Stern, about a former American president seeking to repair the damage caused by his administration, and Berlin Station, an espionage drama produced by Paramount Television, about a CIA agent's quest to uncover an information leak at the agency's Berlin office. The two series made their debuts on October 16, 2016.
The network would expand its series development in May 2016, when Epix ordered a thriller comedy series based on the 1990 book and 1995 film adaptation Get Shorty – with Ray Romano tapped to headline its cast – to be produced by MGM Television. Subsequently, in January 2017, the network ordered the comedy pilot Picture Paris – a series adaptation of the 2011 short film written by Brad Hall, who was tapped as its showrunner – straight to series; the program would mark the first major television role by Meg Ryan, who was tapped as its star, since her supporting main role in the short-lived 1985 ABC western series Wildside.
Sports programming
On March 19, 2011, Epix became the third premium cable channel – after HBO and Showtime – to air professional boxing events with the telecast of a heavyweight title fight between Vitali Klitschko and Odlanier Solis, held in Cologne, Germany. In addition to airing on the linear Epix channel, the fight was also streamed live on the channel's website. The fight was the first heavyweight title event to air on American television since Klitschko's September 2009 match against Chris Arreola, and the first televised heavyweight championship bout since Klitschko's December 2009 match against Kevin Johnson.Epix also serves as the broadcast rightsholder for the Bellator Fighting Championships mixed martial arts tournament, which carries its events over multiplex channel EPIX2, instead of the primary channel.
Beginning with the National Hockey League's 2014–15 season and concluding until the 2016–17 season, Epix also held the rights to broadcast documentary series leading up to some of the league's major events, starting with the 2015 Winter Classic. This was discontinued for the 2017–18 season, when those series were moved to NBCSN.