MUMBAI: The entire Star Wars library is coming back to cable TV after being off regular television for more than two years. Turner Broadcasting has acquired the commercial-television rights to the complete library of Star Wars movies, including four future theatrical releases. The films will play at some point on Turner’s channels -- TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies.
Turner, reportedly have spent a whopping amount of $ 275 million to acquire the entire library for a pact of eight years.
The agreement with The Walt Disney for 10 films includes the network premiere windows to last year's record-breaking Star Wars: The Force Awakens and this year's highly anticipated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which opens in theatres on 16 December 2016. The Disney agreement also includes five of the six original classic Star Wars films, as well as the network television premieres of the next three yet-to-be-released movies. The installment that launched the franchise, Star Wars: A New Hope, comes to Turner through a separate arrangement with 20th Century Fox, thus making Turner the only company with basic cable rights to all 11 titles in the collection.
The deal with Turner is separate from Disney’s pact with Starz. The Force Awakens will only air on Turner networks in early 2018, following its pay-TV availability on the streaming service. Once that window concludes, Turner can play Star Wars films past and future whenever it wants, as many times as it wants.
The future titles will go to Netflix as part of the deal.
Here's a schedule for the upcoming marathon on TNT:
Tuesday, September 20
8 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
11 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Wednesday, September 21
8 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
11:05 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Thursday, September 22
8 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
11:05 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Friday, September 23
8 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: A New Hope
10:45 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: A New Hope
Saturday, September 24
10:45 a.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
1:45 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
4:55 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
8 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
10:45 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Sunday, September 25
5:15 a.m. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
8:15 a.m. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
11:20 a.m. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
2:25 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: A New Hope
5:10 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
8 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
11 p.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
2 a.m. (ET/PT) - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
