What is channel 341 on DIRECTV?

DIRECTV channel 341 is one of the many channels included in the DIRECTV schedule, which provides viewers with numerous options when it comes to entertainment, news, and information. DIRECTV has over 200 channels that include the most popular networks, local broadcast stations, sports, movie channels, and other relevant genres. Well, what is it that can be found on this channel?

It is important for you to know that Channel 341 on DIRECTV is Sony Movie Channel. As the name implies it is a TV channel that broadcasts only movies with contents from the Sony Pictures library and other studios apart from Sony. Sony Movie Channel began in 2010 as a joint venture between Sony Pictures Television and DIRECTV and serves as an additional way for Sony to make money off their extensive film collection.

Sony Movie Channel airs its programs movies without interruption and in its entirety, with most of the movies being aired in their original letterboxed format. It focuses on presenting movies of various genres and periods starting from the 1970s films, blockbusters, and art-house films, with a special emphasis on independent movies, genre films, and dramas and comedies. This makes it similar in concept to other movie-centric cable channels such as Turner Classic Movies or getTV.

Concerning the type of movies that can be watched on Sony Movie Channel, they are almost in a continuum. At any given time, the channel might be showing fairly recent cinema hits such as Superbad, old favorites such as Jerry Maguire or Close Encounters of the Third Kind, indie films, horror films, epic/sweeping historical films, family-oriented comedies, romantic films, and so on and so forth.

Though it makes sense that a lot of movies aired are from Columbia and TriStar Pictures, which are owned by Sony, for some reason, the channel also features movies from Warner Brothers, Universal, Paramount, Lionsgate, and many others. It has worked with different studios in the past to acquire the license to air hundreds of movies.

Among the great commercial free movies that you might come across on Sony Movie Channel include the most popular films such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Taxi Driver, The Bridge on the River Kwai and 2001: A Space Odyssey. such recent productions as Spider-Man, Hitch, 50 First Dates, Bad Boys… family comedies like RV, Hotel for Dogs, Stuart Little…but also lots of obscure gems for fans of auteur and various genres including film noir, slasher, and spaghetti Western subgenres.

It may not have the same prestige and critical acclaim as TCM though SMC still provides DIRECTV with a contemporary commercial-free major studio movies channel for light viewing, movie nights, when you want to watch your favorite actors and directors, to discover new gems and have always on background entertainment.

Sony Movie Channel is currently available to every DIRECTV customer that subscribes to Entertainment, Choice, Xtra, Ultimate or Premier package. Similar to other high-end entertaining options such as HBO or STARZ, you can also opt for Sony Movie Channel as an additional option in any programming package for an extra monthly charge.

As for the timing, Sony Movie Channel follows the current Cable Niche Networks of having less and less definite time slots for their movies and more rebroadcasts to match the free hours of the viewer. However, it does organize its programming day into some loose segments such as ‘Morning Movies,’ ‘Daytime Drama,’ ‘Afternoon Adventure,’ ‘Nighttime Viewing,’ and ‘Late Night Laughs,’ so the fan will know the kind of film to expect based on a specific time of the day.

While browsing through the channels, one can quickly identify Sony Movie Channel due to the neat and polished appearance of the channel. There are very few graphics that are in this channel so as not to compete the movies but at the same time, the title of the movie, the year it was made, the rating on the movie, how many more minutes are left for the movie to end and what’s coming up next are displayed in a very class and elegant manner.

Sometimes, it gets mistaken for GetTV – a classic TV network or other movie channels such as HDNET Movies but Sony Movie Channel is on its own as the direct movie network offering uncut, commercial-free Hollywood hit movies. Whether you are looking for the latest blockbuster, a classic, or a diamond in the rough, movies are always streaming on channel 341 as if they are being brought directly into your home, day and night.