the u.s. television network . for other uses see showtime disambiguation . showtime launched july 1 1976 ; 40 years ago 1976 07 01 owned by showtime networks cbs corporation picture format 1080i hdtv 480i sdtv slogan brace yourself primary hold on tight secondary country united states language english spanish via sap audio track ; some films may be broadcast in their native language and subtitled into english broadcast area nationwide headquarters new york city new york sister channel s the movie channel smithsonian channel flix timeshift service showtime east showtime west showtime 2 east showtime 2 west showcase east showcase west showtime beyond east showtime beyond west showtime extreme east showtime extreme west showtime family zone east showtime family zone west showtime next east showtime next west showtime women east showtime women west website www.sho.com availability satellite directv 545 showtime east ; hd sd 546 showtime west ; hd sd 547 showtime 2 hd sd 548 showcase hd sd 549 showtime extreme hd sd 550 showtime beyond hd 551 showtime next hd 552 showtime women hd 1545 showtime on demand dish network 318 showtime east ; hd sd 319 showtime west ; hd sd 320 showtime 2 hd sd 321 showcase hd sd 322 showtime extreme 323 showtime beyond cable available on most u.s. cable systems consult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability iptv verizon fios 865 874 hd 365 380 sd at & t u verse 1852 1859 hd 852 866 sd streaming media showtime anytime www.showtimeanytime.com u.s. cable internet subscribers only ; requires login from pay television provider to access content roku apple tv hulu playstation vue internet protocol television 1 showtime stylized as showtime and sometimes abbreviated as sho since 1997 is an american premium cable and satellite television network that serves as the flagship service of the showtime networks subsidiary of cbs corporation which also owns sister services the movie channel and flix . showtime s programming primarily includes theatrically released motion pictures and original television series along with boxing and mixed martial arts matches occasional stand up comedy specials and made for tv movies . the showtime brand is used by a number of channels and platforms around the world but primarily refers to the group of eight multiplex channels in the united states . as of july 2015 showtime s programming is available to approximately 28.693 million television households 24.7 % of cable satellite and telco customers in the united states 28.516 million subscribers or 24.5 % of all households with pay television service receive at least showtime s primary channel . 2 3 the channel and its corresponding networks are headquartered at paramount plaza on the northern end of new york city s broadway district . contents 1 history 1.1 early history 1976 1982 1.2 formation of showtime networks and ownership by viacom 1982 2005 1.3 under cbs corporation ownership 2005 present 2 channels 2.1 list of channels 2.1.1 background 2.2 other services 2.2.1 showtime hd 2.2.2 showtime on demand 2.2.3 showtime anytime 2.2.4 showtime streaming service 2.2.5 sho sync 3 programming 3.1 original programming 3.2 movie library 3.2.1 future licensing agreements 3.2.2 former first run contracts 3.2.3 paramount pictures lionsgate and mgm 3.3 sports programming 4 international 5 references 6 external links history edit early history 1976 1982 edit showtime launched on july 1 1976 on times mirror cable systems in escondido long beach and palos verdes california through the conversion of 10 000 subscribers of the previous channel one franchise . the following week on july 8 showtime launched on viacom cablevision s system in dublin california ; 4 the channel was originally owned by viacom . 5 the first program and television special to be broadcast on showtime was celebration a concert special featuring performances by rod stewart pink floyd and abba . by the end of its first year on the air showtime had a total of 55 000 subscribers nationwide . 4 on march 7 1978 showtime became a nationally distributed service after it was uplinked to satellite turning it into a competitor with hbo and other pay cable networks . 6 in 1979 viacom sold a 50 % ownership interest in showtime to the teleprompter corporation . 4 on july 4 1981 showtime adopted a 24 hour programming schedule rival hbo would eventually follow suit in december of that year . 7 in 1982 group w cable a subsidiary of westinghouse electric corporation which had acquired teleprompter the previous year sold its 50 % stake in showtime back to viacom for 75 million ; 4 the sale of group w s stake in the channel occurred as the company had entered into a partnership with walt disney productions now the walt disney company to develop a competing premium service the disney channel group w dropped out of the joint venture that september due to disagreements over creative control and financial obligations 8 . 1982 saw the premiere of showtime s first made for cable movie falcon s gold and its first original series and children s program faerie tale theatre . formation of showtime networks and ownership by viacom 1982 2005 edit in august 1982 mca inc. then owner of universal pictures gulf western then owner of paramount pictures and warner communications reached an agreement to jointly acquire the movie channel tmc in which the three companies combined would acquire a controlling 75 % interest in the service with each holding a 25 % ownership stake from warner amex satellite entertainment . 9 the proposal was motivated by the studios wanting to increase their share of revenue for licensing rights to their films to premium television services as well as concerns that hbo s dominance of that market and its pre buying of pay cable rights to films prior to their theatrical release would result in that service holding undue negotiating power for the television rights resulting in a lower than suitable licensing fee rate the studios would be paid for individual films . the three companies officially announced their agreement in principle to acquire interests in tmc on november 11 1982 . 10 11 12 subsequently in late december of that year the u.s. department of justice which had blocked a similar attempt by mca gulf western 20th century fox and columbia pictures to create a competing pay service premiere in an antitrust case ruling two years earlier in january 1981 launched a routine preliminary inquiry into the proposed partnership . 13 on january 7 1983 viacom international added itself as a partner and drafted an amendment to the proposal to consolidate the movie channel with showtime . under the revised proposal the four studios would each own a 22.58 % stake in the two networks with american express owning a 9.68 % minority interest . in addition the consortium would appoint a management team separate from those employed by the two channels which would continue to operate as separate services to operate the joint venture . however the deal ran into regulatory hurdles since warner universal and paramount received 50 % of their respective total revenue from film releases and licensing fees from premium services ; furthermore showtime and tmc combined would control about 30 % of the pay cable marketplace creating an oligopoly with hbo which in conjunction with cinemax controlled 60 % of the market . 11 12 14 after a four month investigation resulted in the department of justice filing a civil antitrust lawsuit against the five parties to block the showtime tmc merger on june 10 1983 the department asked warner and american express to restructure the deal during hearings for the case . 15 the department s decision citing concerns including some expressed by hbo management that combining the assets of showtime and tmc would stifle competition in the sale of their programming and that of other pay cable services to cable providers was despite the fact that under the original proposal mca gulf western and warner had each agreed to continue licensing films released by their respective movie studios to competing pay television networks . 11 12 the partners involved in the merger would also set standard prices for films that were acquired for broadcast on the movie channel and showtime either those produced by the studio partners or by unassociated film studios . to address the justice department s concerns over the deal the four partners submitted another revised proposal for consideration on july 19 that included guarantees of conduct agreeing that paramount universal and warner bros. would not receive higher residual licensing payments for films acquired by showtime and the movie channel than that paid by other studios and that all four partners would not permit the two channels in the venture to pay lower fees for films produced by three studio partners than that paid by smaller pay television services for the same films . 16 after the revised proposal was rejected on july 28 warner communications and american express restructured the purchase to include only viacom as a partner bowing gulf western and mca out from the partnership . the changes which justice department officials acknowledged would prevent any anti competitive effect from arising following the merger by allowing other premium services to enter the market should the venture significantly raise licensing fee prices for films led the justice department to drop its challenge to the merger agreement on august 12 ; the department formally approved the deal the following day on august 13 . 11 12 17 18 when the deal was completed on september 6 1983 the operations of the movie channel and showtime were folded into a new holding company showtime the movie channel inc. which was majority owned by viacom controlling 50 % of the venture s common stock as well as investing 40 million in cash with warner communications which owned 31 % and warner amex which owned the remaining 19 % interest as minority partners . 19 20 as the consolidation of its operations with the movie channel was ongoing in 1983 showtime increased its national distribution on cable providers when competing premium service spotlight ceased operations effectively absorbing that channel s subscriber base . 4 showtime logo used from 1984 to 1997 ; a 3d circle containing a tv screen which was originally used as the channel s primary logo dating back to 1979 was used alongside this logo from 1984 to 1988 . this logo was also used on showtime australia until 2009 . on august 10 1985 after time inc. and cable provider tele communications inc. tci jointly submitted a bid to buy the company for 900 million and the assumption of 500 million in debt as well as an earlier offer by american express the previous month to buy out warner s share of the company under a clause in the agreement that allowed either company the option of buying out their partner s stake in warner amex warner communications exercised an option to acquire american express 50 % share of warner amex cable communications for 450 million . among the options barring that it chose to sell viacom a 50 % interest in the company for 450 million the deal originally excluded warner amex s 19 % interest in showtime the movie channel inc. ; that interest would have reverted to warner which intended to operate warner amex as a wholly owned subsidiary . 21 22 23 two weeks later on august 26 viacom acquired warner communications and warner amex s combined 50 % ownership interest in showtime the movie channel inc. as well as full ownership of the warner amex and public shareholder interests in mtv networks for 671.7 million giving viacom exclusive ownership of both networks and once again making it the sole owner of showtimethrough its 500 million cash payment and acquisition of 1.625 million shares from warner for the latter s 31 % stake in showtime the movie channel and warner amex s 19