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LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) When the cable network AMC decided its initials no longer necessarily stood for "American Movie Classics," it rebranded itself as a channel that offers "TV for movie people."
That didn't go over too well with one of the country's larger cable operators, which has now won a court ruling saying, essentially, that AMC is no longer "classic."

The judge in the New York case, Bernard Fried, didn't spend much time on the relative artistic merit of, say, "The Lost Weekend" vs. "GI Jane" (which is currently on AMC's slate). He did, however, rule that AMC's shift away from pre-1960 movies to more contemporary films and more original programming violated a "content clause" in the network's contract with Time Warner Cable.

That clause, introduced in 1993 and renewed five years ago, allows Time Warner Cable to drop a channel if the "quality of the programming on the services materially changes." The ruling could technically allow Time Warner to drop AMC from its cable systems, although according to several news accounts, it's more likely that AMC will be pushed into a digital package.
AMC's ratings have improved since it switched to its current format.

A spokesman for Rainbow Media Holdings, AMC's parent, says that "Of course, we disagree with the judge's ruling and plan to appeal immediately."

Rainbow Media, which also includes the IFC and WE networks, is itself a division of Cablevision, which also provides cable service, primarily in the New York City area. Time Warner Cable is part of the Time Warner conglomerate. Oddly, AMC recently signed an $80 million deal with Time Warner's Warner Bros. film division to carry 22 of its movies, including Oscar-winner "Million Dollar Baby" and "Batman Begins."