Country | Australia |
---|---|
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
Timeshift service | showtime two |
Ownership | |
Owner | the Premium Movie Partnership (PMP)/Foxtel |
Sister channels | Showcase Showtime Action Showtime Comedy Showtime Drama Showtime Greats |
History | |
Launched | 3 March 1995 [1] [2] |
Closed | 31 December 2012 |
Replaced by | Foxtel Movies |
Former names | Showtime (prior to 15 November 2009) |
Showtime Movie Channels is a group of Australian pay-TV movie channels, available on the Foxtel, Optus and Austar TV platforms. The service consisted 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 was owned and operated by the Premium Movie Partnership (PMP), a joint venture in which Sony Pictures Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Viacom, News Corporation and Liberty Global had equal shares. Foxtel took over managing and producing the Showtime channels as of 31 October 2012, with it purchasing assets of the PMP. [3] On 9 December 2012, it was announced that Movie Network and Showtime (with the exception of Showcase) would be replaced with a new line-up of Foxtel branded movie channels to be named Foxtel Movies [4]
The main competitor to Showtime is Movie Network Channels.
Formed in late 1994 through a joint partnership between Australis Media, Columbia TriStar, MCA, Viacom and Tele-Communications Inc., [5] 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. [6] 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. [7]
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. [8] In addition, Showtime was renamed showtime premiere.
On 11 October 2012, Foxtel announced they would acquire certain assets of the Premium Movie Partnership, which would result in Foxtel managing and producing the Showtime channels as of 31 October 2012. [3] [9]
All showtime channels area available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus, unless otherwise noted. showtime premiere and showcase are also available through Xbox 360's IPTV service.
Channel | SD Service | Timeshift | HD service Not available on Optus | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Showtime Premiere | Launched 3 March 1995 [1] | Launched 2 December 2000 as Showtime 2 [2] | Launched 15 November 2009 | Branded as Showtime until 14 November 2009 | |
Channel 401 | Channel 402 | Channel 219 | |||
Showtime Action | Launched 15 November 2009 | Launched 6 February 2010 (custom and officially fanmade for a showtime action time shift) | |||
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 |
Launched on 1 October 2009 were two exclusive channels to Foxtel Download. These were:
Showtime Australia is unrelated to the American Showtime service, but pays a licence fee for the use of the name and trademark.[ citation needed ] It also produces some Australian movies, such as Bad Eggs , in conjunction with other companies.
Despite the name being Showtime, for branding purposes it is usually spelt in all capitals to match the channel logo. Similarly, Showcase is usually spelt in all lower case. As a matter of fact, the branding for Showtime uses the former logo from the American cable service until 1997.
BBC UKTV is an Australian pay television channel in Australia and New Zealand, screening British entertainment programming, sourced mainly from the archives of the BBC, RTL Group and ITV plc. The channel was originally a joint venture with Foxtel, the RTL Group and BBC Worldwide. It is now owned solely by BBC Studios. It is the home of the channel's flagship programme The Graham Norton Show.
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was established as a 50/50 joint venture between News Corporation and Telstra, with News Corp and Telstra holding 65% and 35% ownership shares respectively.
Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial, and streaming television. In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era. Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.
MTV is a 24-hour general entertainment channel specialising in music and youth culture programming which serves Australia and New Zealand. It is operated by parent company Paramount Networks UK & Australia headquartered in London with a local office at Network 10's headquarters in Sydney.
Austar was an Australian telecommunications company which was founded in 1995 under the name Community Entertainment Television (CETV). Its main business activity was subscription television. It was also involved with internet access and mobile phones.
C7 Sport was a pay-TV service in Australia, owned and run by Seven Network. The service was carried on the Austar and Optus Vision pay-TV networks between 1995 and 2002. Seven unsuccessfully pursued court action against competitors, seeking damages of $480 million, but lost the case and was described by the judge as exhibiting "more than a hint of hypocrisy" in regard to the issue of price-ramping of broadcast rights.
SBS World Movies is an Australian free-to-air television channel showing international movies. The channel features foreign language films, documentaries, independent and mainstream cinema and interviews with international movie stars. It was previously known simply as World Movies and was available on Foxtel. Its library of movies is currently available on the SVOD service Stan and Netflix, and it was revived on Channel 32 as a free-to-air channel, on 1 July 2019.
Starz Encore is an American premium television channel owned by Starz Inc. a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment and headquartered at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado, United States. Launched as Encore on 1 April 1991, its programming features mainly older and recent theatrically released feature films, although some of its multiplex channels also carry acquired television series. It is the sister channel of Starz and MoviePlex.
Subscription television in Australia is provided using technologies such as cable television, satellite television and internet television by a number of companies unified in their provision of a subscription television service. Notable actors in the sector include Foxtel, Netflix and Stan. Regulation of the sector is assured by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Galaxy is a former provider of pay television programming in Australia via satellite and wireless cable (microwave) delivery methods.
Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited is the division of Foxtel that owns and operates the Fox Sports television networks and digital properties in Australia. The group operates nine Foxfox is the best
National Geographic Wild is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). The channel primarily focuses on wildlife and natural history non-fiction programming. It is a sister network to National Geographic TV.
MTV Hits is an Australian and New Zealand subscription music channel focused on hit music. The channel first launched in Australia in April 2007, and later launched in New Zealand on 1 December 2011.
Universal TV is an Australian cable and satellite television channel, owned and operated by NBCUniversal International Networks. It has been available on most subscription television platforms in Australia since 1998.
Movie Network Channels was an Australian premium television movie service that consisted of five original channels, two SD timeshifts and three HD simulcasts. Its main competitor was Showtime. Movie Network channels were originally only available through Optus TV, who produced and part-owned the channels prior to 1 January 2000.
Fox Showcase is an Australian premium drama cable and satellite television channel. It was initially part of the Showtime Australia channels and was managed by PMP chief executive officer Peter Rose. In 2007 Rose said Showcase "provides a real home at last for quality drama in Australia, and this list of outstanding event television is just the start". Showcase launched with the Australian TV premieres of Dexter and Australian-made series Satisfaction.
Showtime Greats was an Australian cable and satellite television channel which was available on the Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television subscription television platforms.
Foxtel Movies is a suite of 11 pay television film channels in Australia which began broadcasting on 1 January 2013. Owned by Foxtel, the channels replaced the now-defunct Movie Network and Showtime suites.
In addition to its sports network, already operating, Galaxy trebled the choice on Friday when Showtime, a premium movie channel, and Encore, a movie favourites channel, got under way.