Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI) is a U.S. cable television network that has been operating Showtime in the United States since 1976, one of the oldest pay TV channels. Originally created from Viacom, Showtime now belongs to the CBS Corporation.
History of the
Showtime mainly shows feature films as well as self-produced television series and occasionally boxing competitions. The channel was originally launched on July 1, 1976 as a service of the then Viacom in the regional cable network of Dublin (California). On 7 March 1978, nationwide satellite broadcasting began as a direct competitor to HBO.
In 1979, Viacom sold 50% of Showtime to TelePrompTer, who two years later were taken over by Westinghouse Electric and sold their Showtime shares back to Viacom in 1982. The following year Showtime and The Movie Channel were merged by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment to form Showtime Networks, Inc.
In December 1984, Showtime aired its first self-produced feature, The Ratings Game by and with Danny DeVito. In 1990, Showtime began buying independent short films and showing them on television for the first time as part of their 30-Minute Movie series. One of the early premieres, the science fiction short 12:01 PM with Kurtwood Smith, was even nominated for an Oscar. Later, Showtime expanded its purchases to feature-length films, such as Adrian Lyne’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Lolita.
In the early 2000s, Showtime began launching multiplex channels such as Showtime Too, Showcase, Showtime Beyond and Showtime Extreme. In addition, channels such as Showtime Family Zone, Showtime Next and Showtime Women were made available exclusively via the digital cable network for the first time. Today, Showtime Networks also includes the channels The Movie Channel and Flix, and together with the Smithsonian Institution, Showtime also operates the Smithsonian Networks.
Showtime was one of the first cable networks to introduce HDTV and Dolby Digital broadcasting. A few years ago, they began offering a flat-rate subscription for video-on-demand in a pilot project that is now available as Showtime On Demand as a regular service.
In 2005, Showtime became a subsidiary of today’s CBS Corporation, the legal successor to the previous Viacom.
Boxing
Showtime is the second largest pay-TV station in the USA, also shows professional boxing, but is much less financially strong than HBO and therefore often has to make do with boxer fights, which HBO does not broadcast. But since the station occasionally contracts individual boxers like David Tua or Mike Tyson and doesn’t let them fight with other stations, HBO’s broadcast is prevented or significantly delayed.
National
In the United States, Showtime offers several stations, each with its own theme area.
International
Showtime has also licensed its own stations or its name to other stations in some other countries.