Showtime Networks Inc

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.

Showtime became the latest TV network to stake out a corner in Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music store, offering downloads of its original productions, including "Sleeper Cell" and "Weeds." Showtime Networks Inc., a unit of CBS Corp., is hoping to raise its profile by offering its programs to consumers who do not subscribe to the premium pay channel. The network joins Walt Disney Co. and NBC Universal by offering its shows for download on iTunes for $1.99 an episode. -- Meg James

Oscar-winning "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody will tackle the subject of motherhood once again in a television comedy for Showtime. The cable network has picked up 12 episodes of "United States of Tara," written by Cody and starring Toni Collette ("Little Miss Sunshine") as a wife and mother of two who suffers from dissociative identity (formerly multiple personality) disorder. Steven Spielberg, who first came up with the story, will executive produce with Cody.

Two filmmakers were refused access to the Smithsonian Institution's collections for their projects but researchers generally have not been restricted so far by the Smithsonian's semi-exclusive deal with a cable network, congressional investigators said. The public has justifiable concerns nonetheless about the 30-year contract between the Smithsonian and Showtime Networks Inc., a cable network owned by CBS Corp., according to the Government Accountability Office.

The Internet is fast becoming an interactive--if not quite aerobic--diversion for legions of couch potatoes, according to research to be released today by Showtime Networks Inc. Nearly one in five U.S. households reports watching television and using the Internet simultaneously, according to the January study. That statistic, which equates to roughly 18 million "convergent" households, has risen 80% since December, 1997, according to Showtime.

The Smithsonian Institution has given U.S. lawmakers a copy of its semi-exclusive television contract with Showtime Networks Inc. -- a deal criticized by researchers, filmmakers and others. Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small told the House Administration Committee that the Smithsonian is locked into the contract for three decades, though many details have not made public.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. agreed to provide more movies to Viacom Inc.'s Showtime Networks Inc. through 2008 and will co-produce three new television series with the company. MGM will receive about $1.4 billion under the contract, a person familiar with negotiations said. Showtime will have exclusive pay-TV rights to all MGM movies released through 2008 and will license rights to as many as 1,200 films from MGM's library. The agreement replaces a 1993 pact between the two companies.

Showtime Networks Inc. named Robert Greenblatt president of entertainment Wednesday to succeed Jerry Offsay, who several months ago announced plans to retire at the end of the year. Greenblatt, 42, is a partner of Greenblatt Janollari Studio, the production company behind HBO's hit drama "Six Feet Under" and UPN's "One On One."

Actor Tom Cavanagh's newest gig is taking him behind the scenes at the Smithsonian's museums. Best known as the star of television's "Ed," Cavanagh will host a series of 30-minute shows for the Smithsonian Institution's joint TV unit with Showtime Networks Inc., slated to launch in April.

Moving beyond Carmella Soprano, Edie Falco has signed on for a Showtime comedy in which she will play a New York City nurse who doesn't hesitate to tell her superiors off. Described as a dark comedy in the tradition of "Weeds," the series, which doesn't have a name yet, will be shot in New York. Showtime is hoping for a premiere late this year. Falco won three Emmys for her role as a mob wife in HBO's "The Sopranos."

Showtime was sued Monday by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who said the cable television series "Californication" stole the title of their 1999 song and album by the same name. In addition, the Showtime series includes a character nicknamed "Dani California," which is also the title of one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' songs, the four band members said in a complaint filed in L.A. Superior Court. The band asked for a court order barring Showtime's use of "Californication" and unspecified damages.

IRA GLASS, a friendly gray man in a gray suit and gray tie, looked equally pleased and alarmed on a recent evening at UCLA's Royce Hall where he was surrounded by a swarm of die-hard fans. The mostly middle-age devotees had attended a panel on his new venture, a television adaptation of his popular public radio show "This American Life," which will premiere Thursday on Showtime. But they didn't want to talk about TV.

Actor Tom Cavanagh's newest gig is taking him behind the scenes at the Smithsonian's museums. Best known as the star of television's "Ed," Cavanagh will host a series of 30-minute shows for the Smithsonian Institution's joint TV unit with Showtime Networks Inc., slated to launch in April.

Two filmmakers were refused access to the Smithsonian Institution's collections for their projects but researchers generally have not been restricted so far by the Smithsonian's semi-exclusive deal with a cable network, congressional investigators said. The public has justifiable concerns nonetheless about the 30-year contract between the Smithsonian and Showtime Networks Inc., a cable network owned by CBS Corp., according to the Government Accountability Office.

Bret Easton Ellis has come up with "a horror-tinged soap opera" for Showtime. In "The Canyons," a group of twenty- and thirtysomethings in Los Angeles are confronted with violence and manifestations of their own anxieties that may or may not be real, but the author of "American Psycho" and "Lunar Park" says he's not venturing into David Lynch territory. "There are no midgets walking backward," he told the Hollywood Reporter. "We want something much more naturalistic -- a very realistic soap."

MTV Networks, the highly successful music television cable operation, announced it will move its expanding Western regional offices from Universal City to Santa Monica next year. Showtime Networks Inc., a sister company to MTV based in the same Universal City building, is also planning to move its West Coast operations, sources confirmed. When and where Showtime is moving has not yet been determined, they said. Showtime's West Coast office employs about 100 people.

For weeks, the imploded relationship between moguls Michael Eisner and Michael Ovitz has played out like a Hollywood drama in a Delaware courtroom. Now, it's really going to be one. Showtime Networks Inc. confirmed Friday that it had put on the fast track a script for a two-hour TV film called "Two Blind Mice." The project, first reported in Variety, is expected to detail how Eisner, as Walt Disney Co.'

Showtime announced Monday the creation of a new circuit of mixed martial arts fighting that the cable network will begin televising early next year in competition against the established Ultimate Fighting Championship. Veteran boxing promoter Gary Shaw will serve as president of the live event division of Pro Elite Inc., which will assemble the first Showtime card Feb. 10 at a site to be determined.

IT was "just one of those neurotic moments," Jeff Lindsay says, describing his inspiration several years ago for the novel "Darkly Dreaming Dexter," recently turned into "Dexter," Showtime's abnormal psych crime series. He was the luncheon speaker at his local Kiwanis Club in Fort Meyers, Fla., and as he sat at the head table, a thought suddenly entered his head: "Serial murder isn't always such a bad thing." No offense to the Kiwanians, he is quick to add.