The channel is owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation.

In 1983, Viacom and Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment merged Showtime and The Movie Channel to form Showtime / The Movie Channel, Inc. ( later Showtime Networks, Inc .).

Showtime Networks also owns the channels The Movie Channel, The Movie Channel Xtra and Flix.

The original Viacom was renamed CBS Corporation and got the broadcasting elements, Paramount Television's production operations ( renamed CBS Paramount Television, now two separate arms, CBS Television Studios for production and CBS Television Distribution for syndicated program distribution ), Viacom Outdoor advertising ( renamed CBS Outdoor ), Showtime Networks, Simon & Schuster and Paramount Parks, which the company later sold, while the new Viacom kept Paramount Pictures, MTV Networks, BET Networks, and ( until it was sold off in 2007 ) Famous Music.

In December 2006, Showtime announced a deal to broadcast mixed martial arts matches from the then-newly formed Elite Xtreme Combat ( or EliteXC ), an MMA organization formed by Showtime Networks and ProElite, Inc., with all events broadcast under the banner ShoXC ; the league folded two years later in 2008.

* Showtime Networks

Cinemax launched on August 1, 1980 as HBO's answer to The Movie Channel ( at the time, The Movie Channel was owned by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, a joint venture between Time Warner predecessor Warner Communications and American Express ; that channel is now owned by CBS Corporation through its Showtime Networks unit ).

The design division is currently headed by Creative Director Katherine Burke, with the group having worked with numerous corporate clients, including NBC, Showtime, and USA Networks.

Leisha Hailey ( born July 11, 1971 ) is an American actress and musician most widely known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the Showtime Networks production The L Word.

Flix is an American premium television network that is owned by CBS Corporation subsidiary Showtime Networks, Inc., which also runs Showtime and The Movie Channel.

Viacom executives insisted TCI lifted part of the plan from Showtime Networks, Inc. Then-Encore president John Sie said in an 1991 interview with Multichannel News that TCI brought up the concept of the Encore network as a way to revitalize Showtime, either by launching a new service from scratch or overhauling the format of Showtime sister network The Movie Channel.

The Movie Channel ( TMC ) is an American premium channel owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which shows mostly movies, as well as special behind-the-scenes features, softcore adult erotica and movie trivia.

In 1983, Warner-Amex merged The Movie Channel with Viacom's Showtime to form Showtime / The Movie Channel, Inc. ( which would become Showtime Networks, Inc. in 1988 ).

The Movie Channel was originally a separate channel from the remainder of the Showtime Networks family.

Around the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, Showtime began offering all of its channels as part of the Showtime Unlimited package and many cable systems, with the exception of Comcast, along with satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network stopped advertising The Movie Channel as a separate network from Showtime and since Showtime Networks are only available on digital cable, many cable systems will not offer The Movie Channel to non-Showtime subscribers.

As a premium channel, The Disney Channel would air week-long free previews four times a year, as well as two free preview weekends periodically ( with ads targeted to non-subscribers ), in the same manner as other premium channels such as HBO, Cinemax and Showtime.

In addition to broadcasting big-ticket Strikeforce events on Showtime, it also announced it would produce ShoMMA: Strikeforce Challengers, an event series highlighting up-and-coming fighters.

Afterwards, tournament organizer Don King's exclusive relationship to stage fights for the cable channel Showtime meant that Trinidad would be showcased regularly on Showtime Championship Boxing.

It was confirmed on May 13, 2007 that Vargas would face Ricardo Mayorga on September 8, 2007, on Showtime PPV for the vacant WBC Continental Americas super middleweight title.

Prices ranging from $ 3. 99 to $ 49. 99, while HBO and Showtime, with their legs TVKO and SET Pay Per View, would offer championship boxing with prices ranging from $ 14. 99 to $ 54. 99.

* In July 2008, Showtime announced that it would develop the Vertigo series The Exterminators as a one-hour drama.

According to Fuller, Showtime canceled the show due to " a loss of quality and a sense the problems would continue.

On October 24, the new ownership, Showtime Sports and Entertainment, LLC ( headlined by Jewell Harris Jr .), announced they would be moving to the USBL for 2007.

In September 2008, Showtime announced Hailey would star in a " pilot presentation spinoff " The Farm of The L Word, to be written and produced by Ilene Chaiken, creator and executive producer of The L Word.

It was announced in April 2009 that the show would not be picked up by Showtime.

There was some local programming and personalities during this era, including Toby David as Captain Jolly, Art Cervi as Bozo the Clown ( who would later move to WJBK-TV ), and Bill Kennedy hosting Bill Kennedy's Showtime ( which would soon relocate to WKBD-TV as Bill Kennedy and the Movies, with CKLW retaining the Showtime title ).

Viacom accused TCI of using the issue of its affiliation contract, which expired in January 1993, to pressure Viacom into settling its lawsuit against them, in which Viacom stated that TCI threatened to hurt both Showtime and The Movie Channel unless Viacom agreed to acquire a stake in Encore, a channel Viacom claimed to be a concept first made by them four years earlier during failed negotiations that would have had TCI purchase a 50 % stake in Showtime Networks.

When rumors began late in 2001 that Showtime would also not be renewing Stargate SG-1 after its fifth season, panicking fans rallied to save the show and Daniel's character, starting massive write-in campaigns and setting up websites such as the " Save Daniel Jackson " site.

In September 2007 it was announced that a premium channel called showcase would be launched on 1 December 2007 as part of the suite of Showtime channels, ahead of changes that would allow Movie Network to compete directly with Showtime for subscribers.

In terms of programming, for example, after the launch of Showtime, GMA launched Diz Iz It !, but was cancelled due to the former's popularity, and the latter was called a copycat and cheap.

In May 2010, it was reported that Showtime plans to launch a service to stream episodes of original series to subscribers.

After its launch, Showtime signed licensing agreements with several movie studios.

Before its launch, Tele-Communications, Inc. made a failed attempt to acquire a 50 percent stake in Showtime in 1989. there was some debate as to whether Viacom or TCI originally conceived the idea for Encore, a service similar to Flix, that also focused on films from the 1960s to the 1980s until a format change in 1999 in which recent films were added to the mix.

Starz and Encore were the first major premium channel competitors since The Movie Channel and Cinemax launched in 1979 and 1980, respectively ; as other premium channels that existed before the launch of the Starz and Encore channels including Home Theater Network and Spotlight were unable to compete against HBO and Showtime, and their aforementioned respective sister premium channels.

Initially, this was to be six channels, but Encore decided to launch its own competitor to HBO and Showtime, dubbed Starz !, acquiring the rights to first-run Universal Studios films.

Around the time of its launch, there was some debate as to whether Viacom or TCI originally conceived the idea for Encore ; with Viacom executives insisting TCI lifted part of the plan from Viacom-owned Showtime Networks.

Initially, this was to be six channels, but Encore decided to launch its own competitor to HBO and Showtime, dubbed Starz !, acquiring the rights to first-run Universal Studios films.

Redford partnered with Showtime Networks to launch the channel after negotiations between Redford and the Independent Film Channel for Redford to become a partner in the channel broke down in 1994.

Showtime is an American premium cable television service featuring programming that consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures, along with original series, made-for-cable movies, and occasional boxing and mixed martial arts matches.

Showtime, originally a service of Viacom, went on the air on July 1, 1976, first shown on a local cable system in Dublin, California.

Showtime operates eight multiplex channels and a video on demand service ( Showtime On Demand ).

On October 27, 2010, Showtime launched Showtime Anytime to customers of Comcast's Xfinity TV service who are subscribers to Showtime.

ITV Granada broadcasts on the following platforms: in Hong Kong on now TV channel 517, in Indonesia on Skynindo channel 27 and TelkomVision channel 503, in Malaysia on ASTRO channel 735, in Malta on GO ( Malta ) Channel 305 and Melita Cable channel 309, in the Middle East on Star TV's Star Select service, as well as on Orbit Showtime Network OSN channel 47 and Arab Digital Distribution in the Middle East, in Singapore on StarHub channel 523 and Mio TV channel 23, in Taiwan on Chunghwa Telecom channel 82 and in Thailand through Cable Thai Holding to thousands of homes …

In most of these cases, TMC was never carried as a pay service on said cable and satellite providers, though Showtime was.

Most pay television providers also offer a selection of premium services ( for example, the HBO, Showtime and Starz packages ) in one bundle at a much reduced price than purchasing each service separately, as an inducement for subscribers to remain with their company or for others to induce subscribers into using their service.

The service carries films distributed by Alliance Films, Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros., among others, and has supply agreements for original programming produced and owned by the American pay networks HBO and Showtime.

* The Movie Network ( abbreviated on-air as M ): the main " flagship " channel that offers films, documentaries and TV series including content from the American pay service Showtime, along with Canadian programming.

The channel focuses on programming from the U. S. premium service HBO, including several HBO series, specials and sporting events not previously available in Canada ; however, some programs that have aired on HBO Canada have actually aired in the United States on HBO's rival Showtime.

For the American service, see Showtime

Showtime Movie Channels is an Australian pay-TV movie service, available on the Foxtel, Optus and Austar TV platforms, the service consists of five original channels ( showtime premiere, showcase, showtime action, showtime comedy, showtime drama ), three HD simulcasts ( showtime premiere HD, showcase HD, showtime action HD ) and two timeshift channels ( showtime two, showcase two ).

Formed in late 1994 through a joint partnership between Australis Media, Columbia TriStar, MCA, Viacom and Tele-Communications Inc., Showtime started broadcasting in 1995 as part of the basic package on the now-defunct Galaxy service, showing first-run films.

* Movie Central: The main " flagship " channel that offers films, documentaries and TV series including content from the American pay service Showtime, along with Canadian programming.

The channel focuses on programming from the U. S. premium service HBO, including several HBO series, specials and sporting events not previously available in Canada ; however, some programs that have aired on HBO Canada have aired in the United States on HBO's rival Showtime.