At Showtime, bad is good

A drug dealer, a serial killer, a sex addict and a king with a penchant for beheading his comely wives -- bad sorts are doing a lot of good for Showtime.

It's quite a turnaround from five years ago, when the channel was best known for the gay drama "Queer as Folk." Showtime seemed destined to stay hidden in the shadow of HBO, which has long dominated the pay-TV landscape.

But a slate of programming that plays on aberrant social behavior is helping the cable channel stand out from the crowd: A widow in "Weeds" becomes a pot dealer to maintain her upscale lifestyle, a serial killer in "Dexter" is a police blood-splatter expert, a novelist in "Californication" is a cynical womanizer, and Henry VIII in "The Tudors" is a lust-driven young king with marital problems.

The pathology programming, introduced by entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt, has led Showtime to add 1.1 million subscribers this year, an increase of 7% over 2007, for a total of 16.5 million homes. It marks the fifth consecutive year of growth in an industry struggling to keep subscribers.

At a time when broadcast TV is being slammed by a downturn in advertising, Showtime is now one of the most profitable businesses for parent company CBS Corp. This year Showtime Networks, which includes sister channels TMC and Flix, will generate more than $400 million in operating income, up 20% from last year.

"It's clearly the original programming," said Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS. "If you have one little show, that's OK, but when you have a number of shows that have buzz, people begin to say, 'I have to have Showtime.' "

Marketing moves

Buzz may be helping -- but so are sweeteners the network is using to attract and retain customers. Showtime has boosted its subscribers during the last year in part by offering promotional discounts, said Deana Myers, a senior analyst with SNL Kagan. In addition, some of Showtime's recent distribution deals provide a financial incentive for cable companies to market the channel.

Such inducements have helped Showtime grow by about 2 million subscribers during the last two years, according to SNL Kagan data.

"They've proven that they could get people to stick," Myers said. "Showtime is in a really strong position right now."