Showtime Movie Channels
| Company type | Joint venture |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pay television |
| Predecessor | Encore (rebranded to Showtime Greats in 2004) |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Fate | Assets acquired by Foxtel in 2012; replaced by Foxtel Movies |
| Headquarters | Australia |
Area served | Australia |
| Owner | Premium Movie Partnership (Sony Pictures Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Viacom, News Corporation, Liberty Global) |
Showtime Movie Channels represented a collection of Australian pay-TV movie networks accessible through Foxtel, Optus, and Austar services. This offering comprised five original channels (showtime premiere, showcase, showtime action, showtime comedy, and showtime drama), alongside three HD simulcast channels (showtime premiere HD, showcase HD, and showtime action HD) and two time-delay channels (showtime two, showcase two). The Premium Movie Partnership (PMP), a consortium equally owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Viacom, News Corporation, and Liberty Global, held ownership of these channels. Following Foxtel’s acquisition of PMP's assets, it took over the management and production of the channels starting 31 October 2012.
On 9 December 2012, it was revealed that Movie Network and Showtime (excluding Showcase) would be succeeded by a new range of Foxtel-branded movie channels called Foxtel Movies. Showtime’s main rival during its operation was the Movie Network Channels.
History
The inception of Showtime dates back to late 1994 as a collaborative venture involving Australis Media, Columbia TriStar, MCA, Viacom, and Tele-Communications Inc.. The channel commenced broadcasting in 1995 on the now-defunct Galaxy platform, included in its basic package, showcasing first-run movies. Concurrently, its sister channel, Encore, was launched to feature classic films. While initial programming was handled in Burbank, California, local operations began in October 1995. Subsequently, these channels expanded availability to Austar and Foxtel upon their respective launches, and later became accessible on Optus Television in December 2002. On 1 March 2004, Encore underwent rebranding to become Showtime Greats, with a shift towards screening more recent films.
In September 2007, the premium channel showcase was announced with a launch date set for 1 December 2007 as part of the Showtime suite, aiming to compete directly with Movie Network. This channel specialized in independent films, arthouse cinema, documentaries, comedy content, and television series.
On 15 November 2009, Showtime Greats was discontinued and replaced by three genre-specific channels: showtime action, showtime comedy, and showtime drama. At the same time, the original Showtime channel was renamed showtime premiere.
Foxtel declared on 11 October 2012 that it had acquired certain assets from the Premium Movie Partnership. From 31 October 2012 onwards, Foxtel assumed responsibility for managing and producing the Showtime channels.
Channels
All Showtime networks were accessible via Foxtel, Austar, and Optus, except where otherwise noted. Additionally, Showtime Premiere and Showcase were available for streaming through the Xbox 360's IPTV platform.
| Channel | SD Launch | Timeshift Launch | HD Launch Unavailable on Optus |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Showtime Premiere | Began broadcasting on 3 March 1995 | Introduced as Showtime 2 on 2 December 2000 | Started on 15 November 2009 | Known as Showtime until rebranding on 14 November 2009 | |
| Channel 401 | Channel 402 | Channel 219 | |||
| Showtime Action | Launched on 15 November 2009 | Custom timeshift initiated on 6 February 2010 | |||
| Channel 406 | Channel 221 | ||||
| Showtime Comedy | Released on 15 November 2009 | ||||
| Channel 407 | |||||
| Showtime Drama | Introduced on 15 November 2009 | ||||
| Channel 408 | |||||
| Showtime Greats | Debuted on 3 March 1995 | Initially branded as Encore until rebranded on 1 March 2004 Ceased operations on 14 November 2009 | |||
| Channel 404 | |||||
Internet Download Services
On 1 October 2009, Foxtel introduced two exclusive download-only channels:
- Showtime Family – offering family-oriented films, available solely through Foxtel's download platform.
- Showtime Horror – featuring a mix of classic and contemporary horror movies, accessible exclusively via Foxtel's download service.
Showtime Australia
Operating independently from the American Showtime, Showtime Australia holds a license for the name and trademark. It is also involved in co-producing Australian movies such as Bad Eggs.
Trademark and Branding
Showtime’s branding is usually presented in uppercase letters to align with its logo, whereas Showcase opts for lowercase styling. The branding also incorporates the American Showtime logo design that was used before 1997.