By | Published December 19, 2008

Another blow has been struck to the distribution of martial arts movies here in the U.S. this week following news of Navarre’s closure of its BCI Eclipse home video subsidiary. Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp., is pulling the plug on domestic operation of Voom HD, a collection of 15 high-definition TV networks, one of which includes Kung Fu HD.

The action comes in response to narrowing carriage, particularly following Dish Network’s decision to drop Voom back in May. That led to a $1 billion suit by Rainbow charging a breach of contract. It also left the networks’ with only one carrier, Cablevision, which now intends to replace all of the Voom HD content with other programming in January.

Kung Fu HD is the only dedicated martial arts movie network on television in the U.S. A quick look at today’s scheduled line-up reveals what current and potential future audiences will be missing in 2009. Movies airing today include chambara classics like ZATOICHI ON THE ROAD and SAMAURI GOLD SEEKERS, Shaw Brothers classics like BOXER FROM SHANTUNG and modern actioners such as 2000 A.D. and BICHUNMOO.

Not being a satellite or premium HD TV subscriber, I have never had the pleasure of watching Kung Fu HD but I know of others who have enjoyed this service. It provided fans with a dedicated, high quality alternative to buying or renting DVDs. It also provided licensed distributors with another distribution channel to support the continued release of martial arts movies. With the closure of BCI and the scaling back or selling off of classic genre films by The Weinstein Company, companies like Toei, Golden Harvest and Celestial Pictures are going to have an even harder job of getting their massive libraries of martial arts and action films released here in the U.S.

The question this raises is, what are fans to do when the movies they want to see gradually stop being shown and sold through legitimate channels? Anyone who remembers the ’80s, when grindhouse theaters began closing, cable networks dropped their Blackbelt Theater line ups and VHS distributors folded, they already know the answer to that question.

Thanks goes to forum member maskedavenger for this news tip.

Source: Multichannel News

Discuss this topic in the comments section below or in our related forum thread.

Related Topics:

← Older Comments
  • Wolverine

    Yea Cablevision Sucks My dad and I watched Kung Fu HD alot. with nothing much on tv it was a way to kill sometime, besides killing time we are huge fans of Kung fu movies. we called calble vission but they claimed it wasnt their fault. this is some bs.

  • http://@yahoo.com GONZALEZ ARNOLD

    I am very…….upset that you took Kung Fu HD out of your lineup,with so much bad channels to kill,you guys killed a good one.I am from phil,pa I don”t know why you did it .my sis & myself wound watch kung fu hd a lot and I wound tell her that this was one channel in New York that was the best…….Cablevision!!!…..hear me fix it ,find a way to put the channel back on…just saying it wasnt your fault ,dont mean a thing….fix……it……is there anybody over there that cares about what we like to see. fix it!!!

  • http://@yahoo.com phillip suarez

    i dont know how cablevision can make a bad decision and pull the plug on the kung fu channel and the monster channel this was one of the worse things use people can do if you guys think your working over there you must be working for free or working for goofy lol and the japeneese they have a saying do not look whos at fault just fix the problem you guys are crying that its not your fault but are you doing anything about it the awnser to that question must be no you bunch of fools ………………fooolssssssss…………..fooooolsssssss im moving to pa now cause the cable here sucks and comcast is better

  • pissed off

    you f@#&s killed my only reason for watching television. being a kid in the 80s, my world revolved around saturday afternoon kung fu flicks. and the voom network brought a lot of that old enjoyment, that i used to love as a kid. so if there is anyone with a brain at cablevision, hear me clearly. “get some f@#&kin kung fu movies on the air pronto, or else i’m going to verizon fios.

  • http://mirpsiho.ru MEPTBEЦ

    +1 к предыдущему комментарию :)

  • http://www.nasjudgementday.com iclassdon

    So sad its been several months and I miss kung fu hd so much. I was heart broken and still am.

  • MYLES

    U GUYS SUCK I DONT EVEN WATCH TV BESIDE THE KUNG FU CHANNEL ITS BEEN MOUNTHS AND I MISS THE HELL OUT OF IT BRING IT BACK OR I THINK YOUR GOING TO LOSS ALOT OF PEOPLE I MEAN WHAT ARE U GUYS OFFERING IT SEAMS LIKE WE ARE GETTING CHEATED THE ONE REASON I GOT YOUR SERVICES WAS BECAUSE OF THAT CHANNEL WELL THANKS FOR NOTHING AND TO BOOT MY CABLE BILL IS OFF THE ROOF I HAVE EVERY CHANNEL THOUGHT BUT STILL I DONT MIND JUST OFFER THE BEST TO YOUR CUSTOMERS LIKE THE KUNG FU CHANNEL ONE MURE THING STOP OFFERING BS PACKEGE DEALS AND GET ON THE BALL

  • Dave

    AH crap! I believe it's all about control. Why!? WHY?! WHY?! Seems like the paying customer doesn't matter.

  • PISSED OFF DAD

    I bought a 50 inch flat panel and upgraded my service just to have that channel..It was like being on drugs..Pure bliss…why in the world would you remove the best channel !!!EVER!!! i grew up on these movies and it was the best tv time in my life …tv just sucks now…i guess this is how it feels when addicts get off drugs..that channel was on 24 hours a day in my house…Cablevision should get it head out of it`s A$$ and bring back the VOOM network so we can get our kung fu on…..

  • julio

    cablevision drop 15 channels and were still paying full amount . time to cancel cable and go with att which offers now fiber optics channels . cablevision u suck

  • rara

    these movies were one of the reasons i started martial arts and made me continue it. i hope when the economy is better it will come back… sigh

  • ggordonsmithton

    My disappointment with Cablevision pulling the plug on Voom Networks (with an emphasis on Kung Fu HD) cannot be measured. The marketing gurus need to rethink their moniker and eliminate a word:”vision”, as they lack it as a group.

    I will be working with my congressmen and senators to abate their tenacious grip on their monopolistic grip on this industry in order for the people to choose what THEY want to see, and not what some insipid eggheads deem appropriate for the masses.

    F*&%ng jack@$$

  • Carlos

    It's been a while now, so is there any other cable system that has something similar to KFHD? I will switch in a heartbeat if there is one.

  • michaelmaurice

    Besides not being able to see Bruce Lee more often I was very very disappointed when KungFu channel was dropped, The first time I watched
    ZATOICHI starring Shintaro Katzu I was hooked on the series and could not get enough of it,, the must be some kind of way it can be brought back!!!!!!!!!!!

  • adaosha

    Know what you mean…

    I'm a Dish Net customer. They came real close to losing me when they dripped VOOM. I loved Kung Fu HD, Monsters HD, Family HD, Gaming Channel, and the rest. Replaced by mostly crud channels. Oh well…sigh..

  • Gibran

    when they cut kung fu hd, i was sad and didn't watch tv for a month…bring it back dammit!!!

  • Shiguro Mayimoto

    Rat Bastads. I want my Kung Foo HD dammit!!! Zatoichi the blind swordsmans cuttin hands off on a boad full of wangs, priceless!

  • Shiguro Mayimoto

    Rat Bastads. I want my Kung Foo HD dammit!!! Zatoichi the blind swordsmans cuttin hands off on a boad full of wangs, priceless!

  • Comview

    We dropped all cable except basic after they dropped Kung Fu HD

  • Vickie Okyere

    what channel can i watch chinese movies on cablevision

← Older Comments