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The Z Channel was one of the first pay cable stations in the United States. Launched in 1974 from Los Angeles, California, this station was known for its devotion to the art of cinema due to the eclectic choice of films by the programming chief, Jerry Harvey. It also popularized the use of letterboxing on television, as well as showing 'director's cut' versions of films (which is a term popularized after Z Channel's showing of Heaven's Gate). Although it is widely believed that, in the late 1970s, Z Channel created two subscription services (SelecTV & ON TV) and a sports channel (Prime Ticket), the reality was that SelecTV and ON TV were separate entities, using the facilities of local television stations KWHY and KBSC to broadcast scrambled programming to reach households without cable. Prime Ticket was actually a later name for the Z Channel's successor, SportsChannel Los Angeles, which was a result of later owners gradually replacing the movie programming with local sports.

Prime Ticket eventually was sold to the Fox Television Stations Group, parent company of KTTV, which had lost Los Angeles Dodgers rights after the 1992 baseball season. An affiliate of the Prime Sports network, Prime Ticket became "Fox Sports West" when Prime Sports became Fox Sports Net in 1997. Fox Television Stations, Inc., still owns that RSN which is known today as FSN West. On April 3rd, 2006, FSN West's additional outlet, FSN West 2, changed its name to FSN Prime Ticket.

Harvey's devotion to cinema and choice of rare and important films had an important influence on such directors as Robert Altman, Quentin Tarantino, and Jim Jarmusch. Harvey died in 1988 when, after murdering his wife, he committed suicide.

In 2004 a documentary was made Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession by director Alexandra Cassavetes.

• The Blue Angel (1930)
• The Leopard (1963), in its longer Italian-language version, unreleased on video in the U.S. until 2003
• McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
• Overlord (1975)
• 1900 (1976), shown in its 5-hour form for the first time in the U.S. on this station; the 5-hour cut wasn't released on video in the U.S. until 1992
• Eraserhead (1977)
• Bad Timing (1980), in its uncut form
• Heaven's Gate (1980), in its 219-minute cut, which caused many critics to reverse their decision on the film.
• Das Boot (1981), in its theatrical, director's cut, and mini-series versions
• Once Upon a Time in America (1984), shown back to back in its severely cut two-hour version, and Leone's 224-minute director's cut. Many critics reversed their negative reviews once they saw the latter version.
• Salvador (1986), many think that the showing of this on Z Channel lead to its multiple Oscar nominations.
• The Sicilian (1987), shown in its extended form, which didn't come out on video until the early 90s

• Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession at the IMDB

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