Showtime Movie Channels

For other uses, see Showtime (disambiguation).

Showtime Australia

Country	Australia, New Zealand

Showtime Australia is a three-tier Australian pay-TV movie service, consisting of Showtime, Showtime 2 (Showtime delayed by two hours), Showtime Greats and Showcase. All three channels are found on Foxtel's movie package, which is not included in the getting started package.

History

File:Encore-australia.svg

Encore logo prior to Showtime Greats launch

Showtime started out in 1995 as part of the basic package on the now-defunct Galaxy service, showing first-run films. It later became available as part of the Austar and Foxtel services when they were launched. At the same time its sister channel, Encore, launched, showing older, 'classic' movies. Encore was renamed Showtime Greats in 2004, with a move to more contemporary films. The Showtime channels are now also available on Optus Television.

In September 2007 it was announced that a new premium channel called Showcase will be launched on 1 December 2007 as part of the suite of Showtime channels.

Showcase screens movies (mainly independent, arthouse and documentary features) as well as a number of television series.

Producers

It is produced by the Premium Movie Partnership (PMP), a joint venture in which Sony, Universal, Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Liberty Media have equal shares. The main competitor to Showtime is Movie Network.

Showcase

Showcase Australia includes first run drama and movies to Foxtel viewers. Most of the television programs screened are ones on cable networks in America including FX, Showtime America, HBO and AMC. Some of these television programs include Dexter, The Tudors, John Adams, In Treatment, Breaking Bad, True Blood, Brotherhood, The Black Donnellys, The Riches, Sleeper Cell and home grown drama including Love My Way, Satisfaction and new drama Tangle.

Showtime's Chief Executive Officer Peter Rose said: 'Showcase will provide an extensive selection of exclusive entertainment from Emmy award winning drama series, features and feature documentaries, launching with five Australian television premieres (including three exclusive television dramas) each week. The Showcase programming line-up is unrivaled, and it is available at no extra cost to subscribers of the Showtime suite of channels. 'Showcase provides a real home at last for quality drama in Australia, and this list of outstanding event television is just the start. With our continued commitment to producing and acquiring the best in television entertainment, the channel will continue to provide extraordinary original series through 2008 and beyond,' continued Peter Rose.

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 Eggs, in conjunction with other companies.

Showtime Greats

Shows the greatest movies from the 60's,70's and 80's.

Trademark and Branding

Despite the name being Showtime, for branding purposes it is usually spelled in all capitals to match the channel logo. Similarly, Showcase is usually spelled in all lower case.