Fans of sports-themed movies will own the remote for the M-Net Movies Game On Pop-Up channel (channel 109 on DStv) currently broadcasting to DStv Premium, Compact Plus and Compact subscribers. There will be battles raging in boxing rings, on baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, ice rinks and wherever else blood, sweat… and jeers are part of a normal day.

And as soon as the dust has settled, war gets real. The next Pop-Up channel in the M-Net Movies stable is built around the biggest conflicts of all time.

The M-Net Movies Epic Battles Pop-Up channel will explode onto the screens of DStv Premium customers from Friday 22 March until Sunday,14 April. These 24 days of thrilling, shocking and heart-breaking top-notch cinema will feature more than 70 films, showcasing the greatest war stories ever told, battles that shaped human history for more than two millennia. You can almost smell the cordite of the trenches, or feel the earth move as a tank brigade rumbles towards enemy lines.

The adrenaline starts pumping on the first weekend with historical epics such as Troy and Rise of an Empire, followed by films about the Vietnam War – an event that left an indelible scar on an entire generation of Americans. More than 50 000 US soldiers never returned. The war is depicted brilliantly in classics such as Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, and Full Metal Jacket.

The major battles of World War II, the most destructive conflict the world has ever seen, are featured in films such as Pearl Harbour, a re-imagining of the day that sparked America’s entry into the war, and Saving Private Ryan, a tale of selflessness and bravery of the first rank. Imaginary interstellar conflict is the theme of Independence Day and War of The Words, and the channel will turn back the clock for the great battles from way back in Braveheart, Kingdom of Heaven and Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Alongside the stark reality of films inspired by real events, viewers will be able to indulge in pure fantasy, such as: Pirates of The Caribbean, Transformers and Lord of The Rings.

Each day’s viewing will end around midnight.

The full schedule with be communicated in due course.