MoviePlex, stylized as movieplex since 2006, is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Starz Inc. subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment and headquartered at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado. Launched on 1 January 1997 as Plex: Encore 1, its programming consists of recent, as well as older theatrically released motion pictures. It is the sister channel of Starz and Starz Encore. History MoviePlex originally launched on January 1, 1997 as Plex: Encore 1; it replaced both INTRO Television (originally called TV! Network until September 1995), a cable channel that was launched in June 1994 by Liberty Media (initial owner of MoviePlex through a joint venture with parent company Tele-Communications, Inc.), which aired "sampler" blocks of programming from other cable channels without full coverage; and Encore Plus, a secondary Encore network that had utilized what came to be MoviePlex's format. The channel also had some original content. The relaunched network was originally referred to as "Plex" in promotions, with the numbering system used by the Encore networks at the time giving it the designation "Encore 1"; the network assumed the MoviePlex name in the fall of 1997. MoviePlex's original programming format carried on that of its predecessor, as the channel featured day-long blocks of various programs from Encore's themed multiplex channels each day of the week, with a different channel being showcased each day; prior to MoviePlex's conversion into a standalone channel, it broadcast programming from children-oriented WAM! (now Starz Encore Family) on Sundays, Love Stories (now Starz Encore Classics) on Mondays, the main Encore channel on Tuesdays, Westerns (now Starz Encore Westerns) on Wednesdays, Action (now Starz Encore Action) on Thursdays, Mystery (now Starz Encore Mystery) on Fridays and True Stories (later Encore Drama; now Starz Encore Black) on Saturdays. Programming was shown on a one-hour delay from its presentation on that respective Encore channel, with R-rated films omitted from MoviePlex's schedule and substituted with alternative G-, PG- and PG-13-rated film titles. Presumably, this was to give viewers a chance to try out each channel of the multiplex before subscribing to it; alternatively, it also served as an outlet for some of the multiplex programming as some cable providers did not carry them all. On June 2, 1997, TCI announced a deal in which it transferred majority ownership of its Encore Media Group subsidiary to Liberty Media, a transaction done in part