Showtime Selects iTunes Music Store and Apple Retail Stores for Rockin' First Quarter Promotion

Showtime Selects iTunes Music Store and Apple Retail Stores for Rockin' First Quarter Promotion NEW YORK, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's consumers want the best entertainment experience imaginable -- on TV, online and on the go. Keeping that in mind, Showtime Networks has selected Apple gift cards and iTunes Music Store gift certificates for the SHOWTIME first quarter 2005 acquisition campaign. Qualified consumers who sign up to receive SHOWTIME and subscribe for at least three months, will get a $25 gift card good at any of Apple's retail stores in the U.S. (http://www.apple.com/retail), or they can choose to receive a $25 iTunes gift certificate. The promotional period runs from now through March 31. "The idea of this promotion is to link the SHOWTIME brand, which stands for cutting edge premium entertainment, with Apple, which has become in its own way one of the leading consumer entertainment brands in the world today," stated Len Fogge, Executive Vice President, Creative & Marketing for Showtime Networks. The promotion offers Showtime Networks' satellite and cable affiliates a unique opportunity to market their digital offerings. MSOs can use the Showtime Networks first quarter campaign to promote the iTunes Music Store on their high speed cable modem offerings. Showtime Networks will support the acquisition campaign via off-air, cross channel acquisitions spots to run on cable and satellite affiliate systems. The campaign will be supported via customizable direct mail, and electronically via banners and customizable HTML emails. The network has also created a national sweepstakes focusing on the season two launch of THE L WORD, which will be promoted on SHOWTIME and the network's multiplex channels. Consumers will be alerted to both the Apple offer and the sweepstakes on the SHOWTIME website located at SHO.com. In first quarter 2005, SHOWTIME subscribers can see the second season return of the hit SHOWTIME series THE L WORD on February 20, as well as one of the most talked about new series on television, FAT ACTRESS, starring Kirstie Alley in March. In addition, they can see SHOWTIME Championship Boxing, original movies including EDGE OF AMERICA, and exclusive box office premieres such as Agent Cody Banks, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, Uptown Girls, and Barbershop 2. Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., owns the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX(R), as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME(R) TOO(TM), SHOWTIME(R) SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME(R), SHOWTIME BEYOND(R), SHOWTIME NEXT(R), SHOWTIME WOMEN(R), SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE(R) and TMC xtra. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD(R), SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND(TM). SNI operates and manages the premium television network SUNDANCE CHANNEL(R), which is a venture between NBC Universal, Robert Redford, and Showtime Networks Inc. 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(R) PPV. Additionally, the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME is available in Turkey through a joint venture with UK-based Zone Vision. Source: Showtime Networks Inc. CONTACT: Joan Ziff, +1-212-708-1590, joan.ziff@showtime.net, or Brooks Jewell, 212-708-1389, brooks.jewell@showtime.net, both of Showtime Networks Inc. Web site: http://www.sho.com/ http://www.apple.com/retail ------- Profile: International Entertainment