User:This is Paul/Sky Movies 007 HD

Sky Movies 007 HD is a premium subscription television movie channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland operated by BSkyB. The channel is dedicated to the James Bond films and first went on-air on 5 October 2012 after Sky secured the broadcasting rights to the back catalogue of Bond films, and to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of the first Bond film, Dr. No in 1962.

Background
On 12 April 2012 it was reported that BSkyB had signed a deal with MGM for exclusive rights to air the James Bond films in the United Kingdom, beginning from October to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the film franchise. The agreement meant the end of ITV's unbroken run as holder of the screen rights which began in 1975. Sky originally planned to air the films on Sky Movies Showcase, but in August 2012 announced it would create a specific channel dedicated to the Bond series. An advertisement for the channel together with a logo based on the James Bond logo was unveiled in September. The launch date of the channel, 5 October, was also confirmed.

Launch
To celebrate the launch of the channel, journalists from the entertainment website Digital Spy were invited to take part in a Bond movie marathon at London's Corinthia Hotel, where they would watch the twenty-two Bond films then on release back to back. The marathon began on Friday 28 September and ended on Sunday 30 September. Sky Movies 007 HD launched on Friday 5 October to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr. No, the first film in the series. The channel is available on-air and on demand through Sky Digital, and is being broadcast until Sunday 4 November. After that date the films will continue to be available via the on-demand service Sky Anytime+, and will air on various Sky Movies channels. As well as the films the channel also airs Bond-related documentaries, such as behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew members.

Speaking on 3 October 2012 ahead of the channel's launch, Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Movies said, “The Bond movies are a very special franchise and we want to ensure that our customers will be able to experience it in a way they’ve never been able to before, and so we’re going to create a dedicated channel SKY MOVIES 007 HD devoted entirely to James Bond showing the entire catalogue of films and loads of extra material." As part of a promotion for the channel, on 5 October 2012 the digital radio station Absolute Radio 00s changed its name to Absolute Radio 007 for the day.