Showtime Networks, Inc. is a subsidiary of American media conglomerate

Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

under its networks division that oversees the company's premium

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

channels, including its flagship namesake service.

Overview

The company was established in 1983 as Showtime/The Movie Channel, Inc. after Viacom and Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment (now

Paramount Media Networks Paramount Media Networks is the division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after MTV. It would be known under this ...

) merged their premium channels, Showtime and

The Movie Channel The Movie Channel (often abbreviated as TMC) is an American pay television, premium television network owned by Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global operated through its Paramount Media Networks division. Not including CBS, it is t ...

respectively, into one division. In 1984,

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

sold their interest in Warner-Amex to Warner Communications (now Warner Bros. Discovery) making Warner the new half-owner of Showtime/TMC. In 1985, Warner sold its half-interest to Viacom, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom. The acquisition was completed on May 20, 1986, along with MTV Networks. It also saw the pay-per-view service Viewer's Choice become part of the operation; it merged with rival PPV service Home Premiere Television in 1988, and Viacom ceded control to the cable companies that owned HPT (Viacom still held a stake until the 1990s). In 1988, the company was renamed Showtime Networks, Inc. On March 1, 1994, a partnership between Showtime Networks and Home Box Office, Inc. (parent of HBO and Cinemax) implemented a cooperative content advisory system that was initially unveiled across Showtime, The Movie Channel and the HBO properties that would provide specific content information for pay-cable subscribers to determine the suitability of a program for children. The development of the system—inspired by the advisory ratings featured in Showtime and The Movie Channel's respective program guides and those distributed by other participating premium cable services—was in response to concerns from parents and advocacy groups about violent content on television, allowing th
Showtime Networks
and other services to assign individual ratings corresponding to the objectionable content depicted in specific programs (and categorized based on violence, profanity, sexuality or miscellaneous mature material). Labels are assigned to each program at the discretion of the participating service. A revised system—centered around ten content codes of two to three letters in length—was implemented across the Showtime Networks and Home Box Office services on June 10, 1994. SNI became part of

CBS Corporation CBS Corporation was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing and television production. It was split from Viacom on December 31, 2005, alongside an entirely new Viacom; both ...

when it officially split from Viacom on December 31, 2005. SNI managed Sundance Channel as part of a joint venture with Robert Redford and

NBC Universal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and headquartered at 30 ...

until 2008, when it was sold to Rainbow Media (now AMC Networks). CBS Corporation re-merged with Viacom to form ViacomCBS (now

) in early December 2019.

Cable networks currently owned by SNI

Year in parentheses denotes when each network and channel was brought into the SNI fold. * Paramount+ with Showtime (1983)⁺ ** SHO2 (formerly SHOTOO) (1991) ** Showcase (formerly Showtime 3) (1996) ** Showtime Extreme (1998) ** SHO×BET (2020)^* ** Showtime Next (2001) ** Showtime Family Zone (2001) ** Showtime Women (2001) *

(1983)⁺ ** The Movie Channel Xtra (1997) * Flix (1992) ⁺Channel launched under Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment prior to 1983.
^*Channel originally named Showtime Beyond from 1999 to 2020. SNI won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

in 2002 for '' Bang Bang You're Dead''.62nd Annual Peabody Awards
May 2003. In 2008, SNI was honored at the 59th Annual

Technology & Engineering Emmy Award The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Engineer ...

s for Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Best Use of Commercial Advertising on Personal Computer for the companion website to the series ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cable network groups in the United States Paramount Media Networks 1983 establishments in New York City American companies established in 1983 Companies based in Manhattan Television broadcasting companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in New York City Entertainment companies established in 1983 Entertainment companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1983 Mass media companies of the United States Mass media companies based in New York City 1985 mergers and acquisitions Multinational companies headquartered in the United States