Advanced Television

Stan exclusive Showtime OTT deal

January 27, 2016

CBS and Australian SVoD service Stan, a joint venture between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media, have agreed an exclusive licensing deal that will bring all future SHOWTIME series and hundreds of hours of SHOWTIME programming to the Australian streaming service.

It will also provide Stan with an exclusive licence to the SHOWTIME brand and trademark, making Stan the official home of SHOWTIME in Australia.

The pair say the new agreement marks the most significant content licensing deal in recent Australian television history, and places Stan at the forefront of a changing media landscape as SVoD quickly becomes a mainstream consumer product.

Mike Sneesby, CEO of Stan, said the deal with rounded out an amazing first year for Stan, with more than 1.5 million Australians having used the service across almost 700,000 subscriptions since its launch on Australia Day 2015.

“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.”

For CBS Corporation, this marks the second expansive licensing agreement announced for SHOWTIME outside the US in less than a week, and a continuation of a global expansion strategy to distribute the SHOWTIME brand and content as a bundled offering to major international platforms. Similar exclusive deals for SHOWTIME have been announced 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 Nunez, President and CEO of the CBS Global Distribution Group. “We’re excited to expand the international footprint of SHOWTIME in a big way in Australia with Stan, and build on our relationship with their corporate parents Nine Entertainment Co. and Fairfax Media.”

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