DIRECTV to Launch Lance Armstrong Movie, The Program

February 1, 2016

DIRECT Cinema to launch the Lance Armstrong movie, The Program

DIRECTV and Momentum Pictures today announced their exclusive premiere of The Program, the Lance Armstrong movie from Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena), on DIRECTV Cinema this February.

The film, which made its world premiere in September at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, is about disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal and downfall. Ben Foster and Chris O’Dowd co-star in the film which will be premiering on DIRECTV Cinema, one month before its March 18 specialty theatrical and VOD debut.

The Program documents the true story of the meteoric rise and fall of one of the most celebrated and controversial men in recent history: Lance Armstrong (Foster), the world-renowned Tour de France champion.

Frears directed The Program from a screenplay by John Hodge (Trainspotting) who adapted the script from David Walsh’s book “Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong.” The film also stars Guillaume Canet (Tell No One), Jesse Plemons (“Breaking Bad,” Black Mass), Lee Pace (“Halt and Catch Fire,” Guardians of the Galaxy) and Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate).

“We are excited to be working with Momentum Pictures,” said Hanny Patel, Vice President, Revenue & Content Marketing, AT&T. “DIRECTV delivers a unique film experience that can’t be found anywhere else and we are thrilled to continue that tradition by bringing ‘The Program’ to our customers.”

“We are thrilled to be teaming up with DIRECTV on an exclusive basis and eager to share this compelling and topical true story with audiences,” said Berry Meyerowitz, President, Momentum Pictures.

DIRECTV Cinema is a premium pay-per-view service that brings customers exclusive access to select, new films before they are released in theaters. The DIRECTV Cinema Exclusives Premiere program has premiered over 45 films to date. DIRECTV works with a number of studios to secure films for this program to release films exclusively on DIRECTV during a 30-day window prior to their theatrical debut. This release marks Momentum Pictures’ first exclusive film with the satellite TV provider.