Weinsteins Sign 7-Year Deal With Showtime

Showtime and the Weinstein Company have inked an exclusive 7-year movie deal, giving the pay TV network a replacement for the slate of films it lost when Paramount, MGM, and Lionsgate decamped in April and teamed up to launch a rival network, Variety reports. Showtime had balked at what it called excessive license fee demands; all the CEO would say about the fee the Weinsteins will be getting is that it's "a price that is consistent with today's marketplace."

"This deal reinforces a strategy that will give us a diverse slate of films to go with our original series," Showtime’s CEO said. Original series like Weeds, Dexter, and Californication have become Showtime’s bread and butter as technology has afforded consumers more ways to see films before pay TV airs them. "No subscriber buys Showtime every month for the theatrical motion pictures," Showtime’s CEO said. (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)