Turner Classic Movies turned 15 years old and they are celebrating by launching a social network.  The social network is called the TCM Classic Film Union and the URL is tcm.com/fan.  The social network has features such as profiles, movie fans, actor and actress fans, and rare photos and video clips centered around Turner Classic Movies.

There are over a million actors, directors, producers, etc. in the database to become fans of.  The TCM social network also has thousands of movies that people can become fans of.  Turner Classic Movies is a part of Turner Broadcasting System inc. and a subsidiary of Time Warner.

Some of the stars include Marlon Brando, John Payne, Bette Davis, John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, etc.  The classic movies in the TCM social network database include Ada, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, North by Northwest, and Gone With The Wind.

“Both companies will be better positioned to compete, with capital structures more suited to their respective needs,” stated Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes.

Time Warner’s spin-off of Time Warner Cable should be completed by next month.  This will make Time Warner purely a media company.  Time Warner initiated the separation possibility of separating its telecommunications cable operations from their content units about four years ago.

This will enable Time Warner to focus on their major media brands such as CNN, HBO, Time magazine, Sports Illustrated, and the Warner Bros. movie studio.

The terms for separating the companies were agreed upon on May 20, 2008.  Since then, it was subject to the government regulation process.  Within the last few weeks, the separation was approved by the FCC and the IRS.  The separation should be complete by March 12.

[via NYT]