DIRECTV to launch 'The Program'

DIRECTV and Momentum Pictures 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. It 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. Besides Lee Pace, the film also stars Guillaume Canet, Jesse Plemons and Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman.

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.