Showtime Eyes Documentary Niche

By
published

To better promote documentary programming, Showtime Networks Inc. will feature at least one monthly nonfiction movie or special as part of a new umbrella programming category, "Sho Exposure," the network announced Monday.

Documentaries airing under the new title will feature a number of Showtime original programs, including the Oct. 14 premiere of Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
.

Sho Exposure will also feature theatrical releases such as Bowling for Columbine
and Step Into Liquid
and high-profile acquisitions such as James Ellroy’s Feast of Death
.

The move is a response to growing consumer demand for entertaining, fact-based programming, network executives said.

"We plan to tap into a vast array of fascinating work that deserves an audience -- both award-winning theatricals and originals that can only be seen on Showtime," president of entertainment Robert Greenblatt said in a prepared statement.

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.