Showtime has reversed course and will air original episodes of its series “Shameless,” “House of Lies” and “Episodes” next Sunday opposite Fox’s coverage of the Super Bowl.
The premium cable network had planned to air encores of its Sunday skeins against the big game, which is expected to draw well over 100 million viewers, but saw an opening when HBO opted to take the night off. Other networks, including ABC and CBS, had already cleared their schedule of any scripted originals on that night.
Showtime also has been pleased with the performance of its Sunday shows, and doesn’t want viewers to get out of the weekly rhythm. It also notes that roughly 70% of the network’s subscribers opt to watch Showtime series on a time-shifted basis — a number that could be even higher on Feb. 2.
The premium cable network had planned to air encores of its Sunday skeins against the big game, which is expected to draw well over 100 million viewers, but saw an opening when HBO opted to take the night off. Other networks, including ABC and CBS, had already cleared their schedule of any scripted originals on that night.
Showtime also has been pleased with the performance of its Sunday shows, and doesn’t want viewers to get out of the weekly rhythm. It also notes that roughly 70% of the network’s subscribers opt to watch Showtime series on a time-shifted basis — a number that could be even higher on Feb. 2.
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