Showtime, Aussie SVOD Platform Stan Ink Deal

CBS Corporation and the Australian streaming platform called Stan have ironed out a deal to bring all future Showtime series, and hundreds of hours of its programming, to the SVOD service. Showtime called it a long-term, exclusive accord.

Stan is a joint venture between Nine Entertainment Co. and Fairfax Media.

“The deal rounds out an amazing first year for Stan, with more than 1.5 million Australians having used the service across almost 700,000 subscriptions since our launch,” said Mike Sneesby, Stan CEO. “Showtime is one of the world’s greatest creators of television programming, and we are delighted to enter this long-term partnership, cementing our position as Australia’s leading local SVOD service.”

Showtime series include Billions, Ray Donovan and Penny Dreadful. Similar Showtime deals have been announced recently with Sky in Europe and Bell Media in Canada.

“The growth of SVOD services internationally has created a huge demand for premium content globally. Showtime’s prestigious brand and growing portfolio of programming align perfectly with this marketplace,” said Armando Nuñez, president and CEO of the CBS Global Distribution Group.

The deal also includes exclusive SVOD rights to CBS and CW series such as Elementary and Under the Dome, and every episode of every Star Trek series. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.