CBS Corporation and Stan Announce Long-Term Exclusive Licensing Agreement For SHOWTIME® Brand and Programming in Australia

NEW YORK and SYDNEY, Jan. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CBS Corporation and Stan, a joint venture between Nine Entertainment Co. and Fairfax Media, today announced a long-term, exclusive licensing agreement that will bring all future SHOWTIME series and hundreds of hours of acclaimed SHOWTIME programming to the Australian streaming service. It will also provide Stan with an exclusive license to the SHOWTIME brand and trademark, making Stan the official home of SHOWTIME in Australia.

The Stan/SHOWTIME agreement kicked off earlier this week with the premiere of BILLIONS in Australia, following its record series debut in the U.S. In 2017, Stan will also exclusively premiere TWIN PEAKS, one of the most anticipated TV series returns of all time.

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.

In announcing the agreement Mike Sneesby, CEO of Stan, said: "The deal with SHOWTIME 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 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 U.S. 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."

Over the course of the new agreement, hundreds of hours of SHOWTIME's catalog of quality programming will also become exclusively available on Stan on SVOD, including award-winning and critically acclaimed hits such as HOUSE OF LIES, THE AFFAIR, PENNY DREADFUL, RAY DONOVAN, DEXTER^® and CALIFORNICATION. Current rights with other platforms will remain unchanged, with series migrating to Stan for SVOD as permitted when existing commitments expire.

In addition to SHOWTIME programming, the deal will also include exclusive SVOD rights to acclaimed CBS and The CW series such as MADAM SECRETARY, LIMITLESS, ELEMENTARY, SCORPION, UNDER THE DOME, EXTANT, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and REIGN. Every episode of every STAR TREK television series will also be available on Stan.

After this week's premiere of BILLIONS on Stan, new episodes of the 12-part series will be available in Australia day-and-date with SHOWTIME in the U.S. Starring award-winning actors Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, BILLIONS is a bold drama set in the ego-driven world of New York high finance. The show was created, written and executive produced by Brian Koppelman and David Levien ("Ocean's Thirteen," "Rounders") and Andrew Ross Sorkin ("Too Big to Fail").

TWIN PEAKS is widely considered to be one of the most groundbreaking programs ever made. Director David Lynch and original co-creator Mark Frost now continue the story 25 years after the quaint northwestern town of Twin Peaks was left stunned by the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer.

When available, all SHOWTIME and CBS titles in the agreement can be watched instantly in full HD on multiple platforms, including televisions, tablets, computers and smartphones.

About Stan
Stan is Australia's leading local subscription video-on-demand provider. Stan offers unlimited access to thousands of hours of entertainment, with first-run exclusives, award-winning TV shows, classic catalogue, blockbuster movies and an exciting slate of kids content. Stan can be watched in full HD on your TV or favourite device, including tablets and smartphones. Stan is a joint venture between Nine Entertainment Co. and Fairfax Media. For more information visit www.stan.com.au

About SHOWTIME
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND®, and the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME®. SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple®, Roku®, Amazon and Google. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu, Sony PlayStation® Vue and Amazon Prime Video. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™ and through SN Digital LLC, Smithsonian Earth™. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.

About CBS Studios International
CBS Studios International is the leading supplier of programming to the international television marketplace, licensing to more than 200 markets in more than 60 languages across multiple media platforms. The Studio participates in international channel ventures, currently comprised of 18 channels in 24 languages across more than 100 territories, reaching more than 70 million households worldwide. CBS Studios International also exports a diverse lineup of formats for local production around the world. The division distributes content from CBS Television Studios, CBS Television Distribution, SHOWTIME®, CBS News, CBS Films and a library of more than 70,000 hours of programming. CBS Studios International is a division of CBS Corporation.

SOURCE CBS Corporation; Stan

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