Showtime Networks commented that the new premium channel to be launched in 2009, a joint venture of Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate, is not a threat to the Network. Stu Zakim, Showtime vice president of corporate public relations said that the Showtime Networks is not to renew the deal with Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate. He also stated that Showtime is better in investing that would have been allocated to securing output renewals into more series development and marketing initiatives.
“They were asking for outrageous license fees. The landscape has changed dramatically since the last time these deals were negotiated,” Stu Zakim said. “Movies, which go from the theater, to the airplane, to download on the computer, to DVD, are not as important to our business model as they once were.”
The new premium movie channel competition not a threat to Showtime Network
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