Channel Profile: Chiller Eyes Original Programming

Thomas Vitale, Executive VP, Programming

How do you schedule the channel from morning through late night, Monday through Sunday?
Chiller is a young channel in a growth phase and growing quickly. Monday through Friday we show movies in prime time. On Saturday we have documentaries and reality programming, and on Sunday nights we do our Culture Shock Block dedicated to imports. During the day from 6 a.m. we show off-network series mainly. We do a lot of stunts, themes and marathons, such as a Steven King Night or a Werewolf Week or Vampire Month.

Are you acquiring content from the international market?
Our showcase for international programming is our Culture Shock Block. This features mainly British programming. We also show Japanese anime on Monday nights. We carry a lot of first-run international programming that has only been available on DVD before. In many cases we are showing things that have never been on U.S. television before.

Are you buying second-run content from within the U.S.?
We carry the full range of movies and series, including off-network drama and docu/reality shows. Acquisitions that we launched in the past season included Millennium, The Others and Tales From The Darkside. We show a lot of movies, including vintage films, as well as new independent features. Sometimes they have only been on DVD. In other cases we have pre-DVD world premieres. At least once a month our Friday night movie is either a film that has never been on TV before or never been on our channel before.

What is your approach to commissioning new productions from U.S. producers?
Chiller plans to add original programming later in 2010 or in early 2011.

Do you have any blocks or slots you are looking to fill?
We are always looking for programming that fits in with the Chiller brand.