TORONTO and LOS ANGELES – The Showtime brand is coming to Canada thanks to a long-term, content licensing and trademark agreement between Bell Media and CBS Corporation announced Thursday.
The exclusive deal, building upon the previous CBS/Bell Media agreement, will make hundreds of hours of past, present, and future Showtime programming available across Bell Media platforms in English and French. New TV streaming service CraveTV will launch a new "Showtime-branded environment" featuring the immediate past seasons of current hits like The Affair (pictured left), Ray Donovan (pictured right), and Penny Dreadful, plus Showtime originals like Masters Of Sex, Nurse Jackie, Brotherhood, Sleeper Cell, Weeds, The Big C, and The United States Of Tara. The Showtime collection will also include the network’s complete library of music, documentary, and comedy specials, all adding up to the addition of nearly 600 assets at launch.
Later in 2015, a Showtime-branded programming block will debut on Bell Media pay channel The Movie Network.
"This new partnership with CBS Corporation illustrates Bell Media's commitment to provide additional value to subscribers of CraveTV and The Movie Network, while significantly extending CraveTV's advantage over its streaming competitors," said Bell Media president Kevin Crull, in the news release. "Showtime has clearly become one of TV's preeminent brands, and its slate of world-class and award-winning scripted and unscripted series, documentaries, and specials guarantee our subscribers more of the premium TV they want on the platform of their choice."
"This is a great moment in the history of Showtime, when for the first time our award-winning programming will be distributed and aggressively marketed as one brand beyond the United States," added Showtime Networks president David Nevins. "This ground-breaking new deal was driven by the depth and breadth of our critically acclaimed original series. Bell Media, with their incredible range of platforms, is uniquely positioned to present Showtime to Canadian audiences in whatever form they choose to watch us."
