Canal Plus Group Gets Exclusive Rights to Showtime Series
PARIS– Canal Plus Group has inked a exclusive deal with CBS Corporation to license Showtime series, notably David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” (pictured above) which will screen at Cannes Film Festival.
The multi-year pact will give Canal Plus the licensing rights to a minimum of 10 current or upcoming Showtime series across France, French-speaking Africa, Switzerland and Monaco.
As part of the deal, Canal Plus will get access to such popular shows as “Dexter,””Nurse Jackie,””Ray Donovan,””The Affair,””Californication” and over a hundred library titles. Canal Plus already airs “Homeland.”
Among Showtime’s prestigious new drama are: “Twin Peaks,” “Billions,” with Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, and Jim Carrey’s “I’m Dying Up Here.”
“We are very excited to further extend our long-standing partnership with CBS for Showtime original series, which have always been favorites among our subscribers ever since we started airing Dexter in 2007,” said Maxime Saada, managing director of Canal Plus, who praised the quality of Showtime series.
Armando Nuñez, CBS Studios International president and CEO, said “The value and prestige of the Showtime brand continues to grow rapidly in the global marketplace with this latest agreement a testament to the strength and quality of incredible programming being produced by Showtime.”
CBS Corporation has signed a flurry of international deals to bolster the Showtime brand abroad. Pacts were signed with Sky for the U.K., Germany and Italy, Bell for Canada, Stan for Australia and Movistar for Spain, among other outlets across the globe.
Owned by Vivendi, Canal Plus’s pay TV group has been on a mission to ramp up the number of subscribers which have been declining.
In March, Orange Cinema Series, another French pay TV group, announced a multi-year exclusive deal to license HBO series in France.
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