Encyclopedia
Showtime is a subscription television brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world, but primarily refers to a group of channels in the
United States.
History
United States
The U.S. Showtime primarily shows
motion pictures as well as some original programming and occasional
boxing matches. Showtime, originally a service of
Viacom, went on the air on July 1, 1976, on a local cable system in
Dublin, California. On March 7,1978, it expanded to the national market via satellite, competing with
HBO. In 1979, Viacom sold 50% of Showtime to TelePrompTer.
In 1982, Westinghouse, who had acquired TelePrompTer the previous year, sold its share of Showtime back to Viacom. In 1983, Viacom and
Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment merged Showtime and
The Movie Channel to form Showtime Networks, Inc.. 1984 saw the premiere of Showtime's first original movie,
The Ratings Game, both starring, and directed by, Danny DeVito. In 1985, Viacom acquired Warner-Amex's cable properties, including their share of Showtime Networks.
In 1990, Showtime ventured into acquiring and premiering independent films directly for the channel, originally as part of its 30-Minute Movie anthology series of short films. One of its first premieres,
, was nominated for an
Academy Award. In the years that followed, Showtime expanded its acquisitions into the realm of feature-length fare, including the critically acclaimed remake of
Lolita is a novel [i] by Vladimir Nabokov [i], first published in 1955 [i]. ...
, directed by Adrian Lyne.
In the early
2000s, Showtime launched several additional multiplex channels including including
Showtime Too ,
Showtime Showcase ,
Showtime Beyond,
Showtime Extreme,
Showtime Family Zone ,
Showtime Next ,
Showtime WomenShowtime Networks also owns the channels
The Movie Channel,
The Movie Channel Xtra and Flix. In addition, it manages
Sundance Channel, which is a joint venture of
CBS Corporation,
Robert Redford and
NBC Universal. Each multiplex channel offers movies and programs fitting each channel's particular theme. Premiers of popular movies are usually made on the primary channel.
In 2000, Showtime launched the "Showtime Interactive 24.7" channel—providing DVD-like interaction opportunities to its entertainment offerings.
In the
2000s, Showtime began test marketing a subscription-video-on-demand SVOD system. Now there is a Showtime subscription-video-on-demand channel called Showtime On Demand, which users are able to see episodes of Showtime original series, movies, and specials like boxing and porn. This channel is only available on digital cable in the US.
Showtime also became one of the first
cable TV networks to broadcast an
HDTV version of its channel, along with
Dolby Digital sound.
Showtime's official website is unusual in that it can only be accessed from computers located within the United States. . It is one of if not the only broadcaster with such a website restriction.
In 2005, Showtime became a subsidiary of the newly renamed
CBS Corporation, after the CBS/Viacom split of that year.
Channels
Showtime operates eight
multiplex channels and a high definition channel.
Original programming
Branding
Showtime's launch logo made in 1976 featured the channel's name in the all caps in a italic Franklin Gothic Bold. For a few years, the logo was accompanied with a circle made to look like a TV screen. The circle was dropped in the early 1990s. The current Showtime logo consisting of the network's name still in all caps with the 'SHO' imprinted on a circle was implemented when the network rebranded itself in 1997. The logo which is slightly similar to Cinemax's current logo introduced the same year, is shown most of the time with just the circle 'SHO'.
Following in the footsteps of Starz, the main Showtime networks brand many of its films with transparent logos of each respective network, to the chagrin of many who would rather see clean screenings of movies with no commercial branding whatsoever. Cinemax also brands films and series with logos, which usually only appear for a few minutes before being removed and reappear later on.
Movies
The quality and selection available on Showtime and The Movie Channel has fallen off considerably in recent years. This is attributable to a few factors. After its launch, Starz signed exclusive first-run agreements with several movie studios. After being acquired by
Viacom in 1994,
Paramount Pictures began an output deal with Showtime , effective after 1997. In addition to Paramount, Showtime has agreements with
MGM Studios,
Lions Gate Films, IFC Films , ThinkFilms among others.
Though not owning the broadcasting rights to show first-run movies from
20th Century Fox, Showtime has been able to show independent films the studio owns the home video rights to, even if they didn't release them theatrically. Most notably being
Mel Gibson's controversial 2004 film,
The Passion of the Christ. Others include
Party Monster, , Woman Thou Art Loosed and, recently,
Donnie Darko.
As of 2006, Showtime has a partial deal with Rogue Pictures, allowing them to broadcast particular films put out by the studio, including and
Dave Chappelle's Block Party.
The window between a film's inital release in theatres and its inital screening on Showtime is much larger then on HBO and Starz.
Showtime also plays a lot of classic movies from
United Artists,
Columbia Pictures, and some early/mid 90's movies from
Miramax Films and
Warner Bros..
Usually films which Showtime has pay-cable rights will also run on The Movie Channel during its time of license.
Other countries
Australia
Showtime Australia is a group of movie channels in Australia that began in 1995. The channels are basically the same as the
U.S. Their owner, Premium Movie Partnership is owned equally by
Sony,
NBC Universal,
CBS Corporation,
News Corporation and Liberty Media. This means CBS has only a small stake in the service.
This group includes:
- Showtime - recent mainstream movies
- Showtime 2 - the Showtime channel on 2 hour delay
- Showtime Greats - older mainstream and classic movies
This group is available on all three major pay-TV platforms in Australia.
Middle East
Showtime ArabiaShowtime or
Showtime Arabia as it's called to distinguish itself from its U.S. counterpart, is the dominant subscription
television service in the
Middle East,
North Africa, and the
Levant territories. It is a joint venture between KIPCO and
CBS Corporation , CBS Corp being a minor partner. The company is incorporated in the
Cayman Islands and has its headquarters at
Dubai Media City in
Dubai,
United Arab Emirates.
Showtime Arabia offers Hollywood movies, sitcoms, children’s programming, fashion shows and sports coverage. Showtime currently offers various
Irdeto Access encrypted programming packages offering more than 50 premium Western entertainment channels. It also offers premium channels that includes movie channels, sports channels, news channels, documentary channels, music channels, kids channels and general family entertainment channels. It also includes pay-per-view Home Cinema Channels and Music Choice audio channels. , which is an a-la-carte channel, is also offered in this package.
Showtime Arabia
The is available via DTH
satellite 101/102 located at 7.0°W.
See also
Latin America
In the 1990s, Showtime had an early investment with
Televisa,
News Corporation and
MGM in Cinecanal. Cinecanal was originally called "Cinecanal/Showtime".
Brazil
Showtime had also an early investment in Brazil with Globo to launch TeleCine.
Scandinavia
A Showtime channel is available in
Denmark,
Norway,
Sweden and
Finland. The channel is operated by NonStop Television, which licences the name and logo from Showtime Networks Inc. and brands the channel with the Showtime logo, but does not otherwise show any Showtime programming. Programming is mostly action movies from the 1970s to today. The channel does not premiere recent Hollywood films. Availability differs, it is available for an additional cost in some basic cable TV packages, such as
Canal Digital, although for a much lower price than first-run subscription film channels. The channel is commercial-free. NonStop also operates Star! Scandinavia and
Silver.
Spain
In Spain the channel is branded as Showtime Extreme it provides three different audio layers,
Spanish,
English and
Catalan. It is operated by Factoría de Canales which also licences the name and logo from Showtime Networks, Inc.
Turkey
In
Turkey, Showtime channel is on
Digiturk, yet it does not feature any of the
original programming, only the movies.
See also
- Showtime HD
- Showtime Networks
- Movie Tickets
- Dish Network Channel Grid
- List of DirecTV channels
External links
