HBO OLE
HBO OLÉ (aka HBO Latin America) is a Spanish–language "Movie Channel" of the HBO Cable network operating in the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
There were two channels – HBO Olé (aka HBO Olé 1) and HBO Olé 2 (later rebranded as HBO Plus), both of which were non–commercial.
Both stations were available via cable, 'fibra caja' (optic fibre) and/or antenna.
Olé acquired the rights to air the 1996 TV Movie multiple times throughout 1999. The film was promoted as "Doctor Who" rather than "Dr Misterio".
The film aired in English with Spanish subtitles. (Although Dutch is the official language of Aruba, Curaçao and Suriname, English and Spanish could also be spoken in these countries.)
Of note, in some of these countries the TV Movie had previously been available a few years earlier as a subtitled VHS tape. (The film had also apparently aired on TV in Argentina in early 1997, but we have been unable to verify this.)
(See also HBO Max.)
East / West Feeds
The following countries were known to have access to HBO Olé:
- Oeste (West) feed (sourced out from Mexico):
- Argentina
- Aruba
- Barbados
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Curaçao
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Peru
- Saint Lucia
- United States (Miami only?)
- Venezuela
The East feed was broadcast from Argentina, and three hours later the West feed came out of Mexico. Some countries received both feeds, while others just the one.
- Panama could receive both the 'East' and 'West' feeds of HBO Olé 1 - the former on Cable (channel 3), fibre optic (channel 30) and antenna (channel 3), but the latter only on fibre (channel 29). HBO Olé 2 was also only available on fibre optic (channel 31).
PAUL McGANN
During February and March, the TV Movie aired several times on HBO Olé 1. It was always given a 90–minute timeslot.
Only some of the countries and airtimes are known:
- Tuesday, 16 February 1999:
- Panama – 8.00pm (billing said 8.00pm; actual start time was more likely be 7.59pm)
- Mexico – 9.59pm
- Venezuela – 11.59pm
- Argentina – 12.59am
- Friday, 19 February 1999
- Panama – 11.00pm [see clipping at right]]
- Saturday, 20 February 1999
- Mexico – 1.00am
- Venezuela – 3.00am
- Argentina – 4.00am
- Tuesday, 23 February 1999:
- Panama – 2.45am
- Mexico – 4.44am
- Venezuela – 6.44am
- Argentina – 7.44am
- Saturday, 27 February 1999:
- Panama – 3.15pm
- Mexico – 5.15pm
- Venezuela – 7.15pm
- Argentina – 8.15pm
- Miami – 9.15pm? [see clipping at right]
- Monday, 1 March 1999:
- Panama – 6.45pm
- Argentina – 8.45pm (East)
- Friday, 5 March 1999:
- Panama – 2.45am
- Argentina – 4.45am (East)
- Sunday, 7 March 1999:
- Panama – 4.45pm
- Argentina – 6.45am (East)
- Wednesday, 10 March 1999
- Panama – 11.30pm
- Thursday, 11 March 1999:
- Argentina – 1.30am (East)
(NOTE: Unless stated, the airtimes are based on the "West" feed, which is three hours later than the "East" feed).
A few months later, the movie shifted to HBO Olé 2 and was shown at least eight times (twice on 29 May). We only have dates and times for Panama:
- Friday, 21 May 1999
- Panama – 8.00pm
- Monday, 24 May 1999
- Panama – 4.45pm
- Saturday, 29 May 1999
- Panama – twice - 7.45am and 10.00pm [see clipping at right]
- Friday, 4 June 1999
- Panama – 1.15pm
- Saturday, 19 June 1999
- Panama – 9.45pm
- Tuesday, 22 June 1999
- Panama – 11.45pm
- Wednesday, 30 June 1999
- Panama – time unknown
The film had four more screenings during July, now screening twice per day in some areas – firstly on HBO Olé, then two hours later on HBO Olé 2. (In Panama, it was on HBO Olé 1 only, while in Argentina and Mexico it was both channels; only the dates and times for those three countries are known.)
- Thursday, 1 July 1999
- Panama – 3.45pm (HBO Olé 1 only)
- Argentina – HBO Olé 1 time unconfirmed / 9.15pm
- Sunday, 11 July 1999:
- Panama – time not known
- Argentina – 7.44am / 9.44am
- Mexico – 5.44am / 7.44am
- Saturday, 17 July 1999:
- Panama – time not known
- Argentina – 7.15am / 9.15am
- Mexico – 5.15am / 7.15am
- Tuesday, 20 July 1999:
- Panama – 3.00am (HBO Olé 1 only)
- Argentina – 5.00am / 7.00am
- Mexico – 3.00am / 5.00am
By September, HBO Olé 2 had been renamed HBO Plus. The movie aired three more times (countries and feeds not known) on the rebranded channel:
- Friday, 10 September 1999 (4.45pm)
- Wednesday, 15 September 1999 (1.15pm)
- Monday, 20 September 1999 (11.44pm)
The final airings of the year were on HBO Olé 1 only. (Panama received both the East and West feeds two hours apart – both times are shown):
- Friday / Saturday, 8 / 9 October 1999:
- Panama – 11.00pm (Fri) / 1.00am (Sat)
- Argentina – 1.00am (Sat) / 3.00am (Sat)
- Mexico – 11.00pm (Fri) / 1.00am (Sat)
- Wednesday, 27 October 1999
- Panama – 5.00pm / 7.00pm [see clipping below]
The movie had two final screenings in December – back on HBO Plus (the countries and feeds are not known):
- Tuesday, 7 December 1999 (2.15am)
- Tuesday, 14 December 1999 (4.45pm)
TV Listings
Most of the airdates info came from: HBO OLE on REC ARTS DR WHO
The Panama City newspaper La Prensa carried TV listings for that country. Although a Spanish-language paper, all the TV billings were in English, and gave the title as "Doctor Who". The 8 and 27 October 1999 listings both include the year - "Doctor Who (1996)" – while the latter adds Paul McGann's name to its billing (see clipping above). (Not all issues or timeslots were available online – no issues from September 1999 were held, and listings between 3am and 7am were not always printed.)
The Spanish language newspaper El Nuevo Herald – which had an edition published in Miami Florida – has listings for OLE, but these only covered 7pm to 11pm, so the early morning, afternoon and early evening screenings of the TV Movie don't appear; also, the paper only uses the generic term "Película" for its "Film" listings, so only the 27 February 1999 issue [see clipping above] had an unidentified film (from 9pm to 10.30pm) that neatly fits into the known timeslots on that particular date (adjusted for the eastern US time zone).
