Showtime to Launch 'Best in Sho' Free Preview Weekend Campaign

SHOWTIME is granting unprecedented access to members of the Television Academy with its "Best in SHO" Emmy Free Weekend promotion. "Best in SHO" is an awards-themed free preview weekend featuring marathon runs of the network's award-winning original programming and is the first ever awards-themed free preview weekend offered by a premium network. The innovative initiative is an integral part of the SHOWTIME 2012 For Your Consideration Emmy Awards campaign, and is timed during one of the key Emmy weekend voting periods, from Friday June 15 to Sunday June 17. In collaboration with Time Warner Cable and DIRECTV, the leading distributors in the country's top two markets, SHOWTIME and its multiplex channels will be offered as a free preview and accessible to over 20 million homes, including Academy members and consumers in New York and Los Angeles through Time Warner Cable, and nationwide via DIRECTV.

"Given our incredibly strong slate of original programming this year, our goal was to cut through the clutter and create seamless access for Emmy voters to view as many back-to-back episodes of our critically-acclaimed series as possible," said Trisha Cardoso, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications, Showtime Networks Inc. "This free preview weekend complements our online streaming efforts - now voters have a chance to watch our award-winning series on air and online."

In addition to the collaboration with Time Warner Cable and DIRECTV, this milestone Emmy Free Weekend promotion, "Best in SHO" is also made possible by the participation of the network's production partners Lionsgate, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. The SHOWTIME "Best in SHO" Emmy Free Preview weekend gives voters and consumers a chance to catch-up and sample the many critically-acclaimed and award-winning original series the network has to offer on SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME HD(TM) and SHOWTIME On Demand(R).

The "Best in SHO" Free Preview Weekend is a key element in the network's overall 2012 Emmy campaign, which includes print and online ads in key trades, a major consumer media buy, and outdoor media, including digital billboards and wrapped buses targeting key routes in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. Additionally, the "Best in SHO" marathon weekend will be supported with a variety of original on-air promo spots, and will be featured in various Emmy FYC print ads. Academy members received their annual SHOWTIME branded For Your Consideration mailer in March, which included limited episodes of the network's original programming and selected documentaries. Additionally, for the fourth consecutive year, the network's dedicated award website will provide access to screen all episodes of its Emmy-eligible programs on SHO.com/FYC. Social media access includes Twitter (@SHO_gold) and Facebook (Facebook.com/SHOgold) pages, all aimed at increasing awareness for the network's new and returning series and talent.

The Emmy "Best in SHO" Free Preview weekend will feature marathons on-air and full seasons On Demand of the acclaimed SHOWTIME original series HOMELAND starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, SHAMELESS starring William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum, DEXTER starring Michael C. Hall, HOUSE OF LIES starring Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell, NURSE JACKIE, starring Edie Falco, THE BIG C starring Laura Linney, THE BORGIAS starring Jeremy Irons, WEEDS starring Mary-Louise Parker, and CALIFORNICATION starring David Duchovny. The 2012 Peabody Award-winning documentary REBIRTH, which chronicles the lives of five people whose lives were forever altered on September 11, 2001, will be presented on SHOWTIME On Demand. REBIRTH is a contender in the Outstanding Nonfiction Special category. * Full Free Preview Weekend programming schedule attached.

As a bonus, "Best in SHO" Free Preview weekend viewers will also have access to the season finales of NURSE JACKIE, THE BIG C and THE BORGIAS to air on Sunday, June 17. The Free Preview Weekend is available to qualified subscribers of participating providers only, on both SD and HD feeds and via SHOWTIME ON DEMAND through Time Warner Cable. Previews may contain PG, PG-13, TV-14, TVMA and R-rated programming. For additional details on the "Best in SHO" Free Preview Weekend, go to www.SHO.com.

The Primetime Emmy Awards celebrate excellence in national primetime programming, awarding top honors at the annual Creative Arts and Primetime Awards ceremonies. A symbol of peer recognition from over 14,000 Television Academy voting members, more than two-dozen peer groups vote for the category of competition in their field of expertise.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX(R), as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2(TM), SHOWTIME(R) SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME(R), SHOWTIME BEYOND(R), SHOWTIME NEXT(R), SHOWTIME WOMEN(R), SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD(TM), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) ON DEMAND, and the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME(R). SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel(TM). All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV(R).

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