Showtime Australia
Encyclopedia
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). It is owned and operated by the Premium Movie Partnership (PMP), a joint venture in which Sony Pictures Entertainment
, NBC Universal
, Viacom
, News Corporation
and Liberty Global have equal shares. The main competitor to Showtime is Movie Network
.
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. At the same time its sister channel named Encore was launched, showing older 'classic' movies. Until their launch in March 1995, trailers and previews were broadcast in their channel slots. Both channels were originally programmed in Burbank, California
, until local operations commenced in October 1995. It later became available as part of the Austar and Foxtel services when they were launched. In December 2002, the Showtime channels also became available on Optus Television
. Encore was renamed Showtime Greats on 1 March 2004, with a move to more contemporary films.
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.
showcase screens movies (mainly independent, arthouse and documentary features),some comedy programs as well as a number of television series.
On 15 November 2009, Showtime Greats was replaced by showtime action, showtime comedy and showtime drama. In addition, Showtime was renamed showtime premiere.
, Austar
and Optus
, unless otherwise noted. showtime premiere and showcase are also available through Xbox 360
's IPTV
service.
and satellite
television channel which was available on the Foxtel
, Austar
and Optus Television
subscription television platforms.
Showtime Greats broadcast films ranging from the 1960s to the early 2000s.
Showtime Family will feature family friendly movies
and is exclusive to Foxtel's new download service.
Showtime Horror will feature Classic and modern
Horror movies and is exclusive to Foxtel's new
download service.
, in conjunction with other companies.
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). It is owned and operated by the Premium Movie Partnership (PMP), a joint venture in which Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
, NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
, Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
, News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
and Liberty Global have equal shares. The main competitor to Showtime is Movie Network
Movie Network
Movie Network Channels is an Australian premium television movie service that consists of five original channels , two SD timeshifts and three HD simulcasts...
.
History
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
, MCA, Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
and Tele-Communications Inc.
Tele-Communications Inc.
Tele-Communications, Inc. or TCI was a cable television provider in the United States, for much of its history controlled by Bob Magness and John Malone....
, Showtime started broadcasting in 1995 as part of the basic package on the now-defunct Galaxy
Galaxy (Australian TV)
Galaxy is a former provider of pay television programming in Australia via satellite and wireless cable delivery methods.Galaxy was founded in 1993, and begin test broadcasting on 1 January 1995 via microwave, making it the first provider of pay-TV services in the country...
service, showing first-run films. At the same time its sister channel named Encore was launched, showing older 'classic' movies. Until their launch in March 1995, trailers and previews were broadcast in their channel slots. Both channels were originally programmed in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, until local operations commenced in October 1995. It later became available as part of the Austar and Foxtel services when they were launched. In December 2002, the Showtime channels also became available on Optus Television
Optus Television
Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.-History:Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and Continental Cablevision with small shareholdings by media companies Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven...
. Encore was renamed Showtime Greats on 1 March 2004, with a move to more contemporary films.
Movie Network
Movie Network Channels is an Australian premium television movie service that consists of five original channels , two SD timeshifts and three HD simulcasts...
to compete directly with Showtime for subscribers.
showcase screens movies (mainly independent, arthouse and documentary features),some comedy programs as well as a number of television series.
On 15 November 2009, Showtime Greats was replaced by showtime action, showtime comedy and showtime drama. In addition, Showtime was renamed showtime premiere.
Channels
All showtime channels area available on FoxtelFoxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
and Optus
Optus Television
Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.-History:Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and Continental Cablevision with small shareholdings by media companies Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven...
, unless otherwise noted. showtime premiere and showcase are also available through Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
's IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
service.
| Channel | SD Service | Timeshift | HD service Not available on Optus Optus Television Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.-History:Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and Continental Cablevision with small shareholdings by media companies Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven... |
Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| showtime premiere | Launched 3 March 1995 | Launched 2 December 2000 as Showtime 2 | Launched 15 December 2009 | Branded as Showtime until 14 December 2009 | |
| Channel 401 | Channel 402 | Channel 219 | |||
| showtime action | Launched 15 November 2009 | ||||
| Channel 406 | Channel 221 | ||||
| showtime comedy | Launched 15 November 2009 | ||||
| Channel 407 | |||||
| showtime drama | Launched 15 November 2009 | ||||
| Channel 408 | |||||
| showtime greats | |
Launched 3 March 1995 | Branded as Encore until 1 March 2004 Closed on 14 November 2009 |
||
| Channel 404 | |||||
Showtime Greats
Showtime Greats was an Australian cableCable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
and satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
television channel which was available on the Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
and Optus Television
Optus Television
Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.-History:Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and Continental Cablevision with small shareholdings by media companies Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven...
subscription television platforms.
Showtime Greats broadcast films ranging from the 1960s to the early 2000s.
Internet download services
Launched on 1 October 2009 were be two exclusive channels to Foxtel Download. These are:- Showtime Family
Showtime Family will feature family friendly movies
and is exclusive to Foxtel's new download service.
- Showtime Horror
Showtime Horror will feature Classic and modern
Horror movies and is exclusive to Foxtel's new
download service.
Showtime Australia
Showtime Australia is unrelated to the American Showtime service, but pays a licence fee for the use of the name and trademark. It also produces some Australian movies, such as Bad EggsBad Eggs
Bad Eggs is a 2003 Australian comedy movie, written and directed by Tony Martin. It stars Mick Molloy, Bob Franklin and Judith Lucy, with Alan Brough, Bill Hunter, Marshall Napier, Nicholas Bell, Steven Vidler, Shaun Micallef, Robyn Nevin, Brett Swain, Denis Moore and Pete Smith having supporting...
, in conjunction with other companies.