Showtime (TV network)

Showtime (now known as Paramount+ with Showtime) is an American premiumtelevision network and the flagship property of Showtime Networks, a subdivision of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Skydance Corporation. Launched on July 1, 1976, Showtime's programming includes originaltelevision series produced exclusively for the linear network and developed for the co-owned Paramount+streaming service, theatrically released and independentmotion pictures, documentaries, and occasional stand-up comedyspecials, made-for-TV movies, and softcore adult programming.

Headquartered at Paramount Plaza in the northern part of New York City's Broadway district, Showtime operates eight 24-hour, linear multiplex channels and formerly a standalone traditional subscription video on demand service; the channel's programming catalog and livestreams of its primary linear East and West Coast feeds are also available via an ad-free subscription tier of Paramount+ of the same name, which is also sold a la carte through Apple TV Channels, Prime Video Channels, The Roku Channel and YouTube Primetime Channels. (Subscribers of Paramount+'s Prime Video add-on also receive access to the East Coast feeds of Showtime's seven multiplex channels.) It is a sister premium television network to The Movie Channel and Flix.

In addition, the Showtime brand has been licensed for use by a number of channels and platforms worldwide including Showtime Arabia (it has been merged into OSN) in the Middle East and North Africa, and the now defunct Showtime Movie Channels in Australia. As of September 2018, Showtime's programming was available to approximately 28.567 million American households which subscribed to a multichannel television provider (28.318 million of which receive Showtime's primary channel at a minimum).