 On December 12, 1983, Times-Mirror announced that Spotlight would cease operations after 3½ years, and would sell the channel's subscriber base and rights to its transponder to Showtime-The Movie Channel, Inc. for an undisclosed price.Each of the providers would offer their subscribers the option of purchasing either Showtime or The Movie Channel as a replacement for Spotlight, with those dissatisfied with Showtime's program offerings following a two-month sampling period during February and March permitted to exchange it for another premium channel at no charge.In announcing its reasoning for closing the channel, Spotlight President John F. Cook cited that it was unlikely that the channel could sustain "acceptable profitability" long-term and the four partner companies had internal disagreements over the channel's operation.