Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment
| Joint venture | |
| Genre | Cable television |
| Fate | Sold to Viacom |
| Successor | Viacom Media Networks |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Defunct | 1985 |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
| Parent |
Warner Communications (50%) American Express (50%) |
Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment was a joint venture owned/operated by Warner Communications and American Express that developed interactive television shows in the 1970s and 80's and initiated several successful cable networks that remain well-known.
On December 1, 1977, Warner Cable's Columbus, Ohio unit introduced the QUBE, the world's 1st interactive television programming system that predated Video On Demand by decades. QUBE featured 30 channels.
Notable Channels:
Despite its technological innovation and vision, the creation of the QUBE and its relative financial failure meant that Warner Communications needed outside capital to expand beyond Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, Warner leader Steve Ross understood that the future of cable television was going to demand an ever-expanding programming need.
Seeing the potential in the creation of new cable networks, Warner Cable divested QUBE's biggest brands, Star Channel and Pinwheel, into nationwide outlets. Star Channel began by satellite in January 1979 and was renamed The Movie Channel by the end of the year. Pinwheel became Nickelodeon in April 1979.
In 1980, Warner-Amex formed a joint venture with Cablevision's Rainbow Media division to launch Bravo, a cable network indicated to arts and films, it was launched in December 1, 1980, however, it was sold to Rainbow Media in 1984 following Warner-Amex's sale to Viacom.
Lack had worked in sales at CBS Radio (in fact, it was he who suggested Schneider to Warner chief Ross) and had an idea of cable programming as a series of special-interest 'channels.' A devotee of popular music, he developed a half-hour show named Pop Clips at Nickelodeon with musician Mike Nesmith as a program for music video film clips. He also planned a series of 24-hour channels to imitate the strategy of The Movie Channel—single-focus programming for music, video gaming, and shopping. Bob Pittman accepted Lack's idea and inaugurated the music channel as MTV: Music Television (née The Music Channel), in the process developing the careers of such future media executives as Mark Booth, Larry Divney, Fred Seibert, Andrew G. Setos, and John Sykes.
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