Has Star replaced Showtime as HBO's biggest competition?

Movie wise Starz seems to get pretty much all the huge blockbusters that HBO doesn't and Showtime is more often than not getting the smaller scale movies or the total flops. Starz and Showtime seem about even with there Original programming but the critics seem way more kind to the stuff of Starz generally so I ask has Showtime ceased to be the Marvel to HBO's DC?

Well, Showtime still is competition in TV shows.

Starz is doing a much better job than Showtime in blockbuster movie release. For TV shows AMC is king.

@tensor: Well AMC does have two of my favorites against one. But I really love Dexter so I'm conflicted.

Honestly...I don't watch premium channels for movies, if it's a blockbuster, chances are I have seen it in theaters or bought the DVD already. I watch it for tv shows, HBO is still the king with it's original programming and Showtime has...Dexter, but Starz..what shows does it have that I should care about?

@the_stegman: Spartacus was pretty awesome

I watched half of the first season..and stopped, the slow motion was getting on my nerves, it was like stretching 300 out for an entire show.

Ahem... Showtime has a lot more than just Dexter... Many of their great shows have ended, but Homeland just started (relatively, it's on season 2) and it's pretty amazing and has won numerous Emmys.

I'm not saying Dexter isn't great, in case it's coming off that way, though.

@the_stegman: The first half of season 1 was probably the worst of it, after that it started picking up steam. They did change the lead between season 1 and 2 but that was due to the guy playing Spartacus dying of cancer.

Interesting. But Showtime is still great IMO.

Well, Starz keeps canning the most interesting shows so. Like they only let Camelot run for one season which I am still pressed about, not to mention canning Magic City as well.

@the_stegman said:

You should have continued watching it, the show just got better over time.

@ace20xd6: Yeeeah, if it takes an entire season for a show to become worth watching, I think I'll pass on it.

@the_stegman: Well I liked it from the beginning, we all have our different opinions.

all are horrible if you actually want to watch something decent....they play the same movies over and over for months at a time...the only reason I have HBO is for Game of Thrones...if it weren't for that then I would be saving money on the cable bill

I'm pretty sure I bust a nut watching Da Vinci's Demons...

No I think Showtime is still HBO's biggest rival. Showtime has the shows and now has all of Golden Boy's Boxing matches.