Cine5 was the first subscription-based television channel in Turkey. It aired in an encrypted format and primarily broadcast feature-length movies when it was founded on September 20, 1993. Subscribers were required to buy a decoder to watch the channel. The number of subscribers reached over half a million. However, in recent years, it enlarged its program spectrum due to competition from other movie-based channels and removed encryption and the subscription policy on January 16, 2006. On February 15, 2011, the channel was put up for sale and bought by Al Jazeera to launch Al Jazeera Türk, however it’s never happened (except the short-term digital broadcast).