Turner Classic Movies was a gonzo creation of the dealmaker Ted Turner.

The danger that TCM faces spotlights an enduring crisis in the field that the channel covers: the history of cinema. (The layoffs are part of an over-all cost cutting at the parent company, and affected other channels, too.) A trio of movie directors who care deeply about TCM-Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson-talked with Zaslav to seek assurances that the channel will be maintained in its current form: a round-the-clock cinematheque centered on Hollywood movies from the nineteen-thirties to the eighties, along with silent films, international and independent films, and documentaries about the art and history of movies. Discovery, David Zaslav, has said that he’s a viewer and fan of the channel, and the company offered assurances that the channel’s offerings will remain largely unchanged. Much of its leadership team was pushed out, including its respected lead programmer, Charlie Tabesh, who’d been there more than twenty-five years. Discovery, is a grim omen for the future of the channel.

The gutting of Turner Classic Movies by its parent company, Warner Bros.