Showtime

Premium TV network

Premium pay-TV brand for original drama and comedy series, documentaries, films and boxing, now offered as Paramount+ with Showtime.

Premium TV networkSince 1976

How it started

Viacom's answer to HBO.

1976the year it started

Viacom launched Showtime in 1976 as a pay-movie channel to compete with HBO, and it reached today's Paramount through the Viacom and CBS combinations.

How big it is

How big is Showtime?

$2.51BDirect-to-Consumer segment revenueQ3 2026

How it makes money Q3 2026

Subscription fees from pay TV and streaming customers.

Premium channel subscriptions
Streaming plan

Key moments

1976Showtime launches
1983Merges with The Movie Channel
1995Mike Tyson fight deal
2023Paramount+ with Showtime launches
2024Channel renamed

Its place in Skydance

Skydance's premium channel.

Paramount+ with Showtime is the group's premium channel, managed in the Direct-to-Consumer segment since 2026, and the top tier of Paramount+.

Who it competes with

HBOSStarzMMGM+

Netflix

What Skydance does not disclose

Showtime revenue or profit (reported inside the TV Media and Direct-to-Consumer segments)
Showtime or Paramount+ with Showtime subscriber numbers on their own
Showtime programming spend

Questions