With video streaming becoming increasingly popular, there will soon be another option for those looking to cut the cords. Showtime has announced a streaming service of its own.
The service is simply called Showtime, and will be released to Apple products, including the iPhone, iPad and Apple computers, in July, costing $10.99 per month.
"At Showtime, we're excited to offer consumers the opportunity to subscribe in new ways, by simply having an Internet connection," said Showtime CEO Matt Blank. Our intent is to make Showtime available to viewers via every manner possible, giving them an enormous amount of choice in accessing our programming, starting with the season premieres of our award-winning series Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex."
The $11 per month will certainly be of interest considering it is $4 dollars cheaper than HBO's offering, and could pressure HBO to lower the price of its streaming service, HBO Now. While HBO has not yet released the numbers about the release of HBO, the company has suggested that it considers the launch a success.
Of course, it was hardly a secret that Showtime would be launching a streaming service. In fact, CBS CEO Les Moonves spoke about the service almost a year ago. Not only that, but last week he met with Apple executive Eddy Cue, saying that it would do a deal with Apple to bring the new streaming service to Apple.
"Apple TV is trying to change the universe a little bit as did Sling, as did Sony. What Apple will offer (is) a more select group (of channels) for a lower price," said Moonves at the time.
It seems to be a trend to bring streaming services first to Apple products, with HBO doing the same thing when it launched HBO Now.
The service comes at a time when using streaming services like Netflix is becoming increasingly popular. Cable companies have taken notice of this, and have started releasing their own streaming services. In fact, the new Showtime streaming service is the second to be offered by CBS, which previously released All Access, allowing users to watch thousands of episodes of both current and classic TV shows for $5.99 per month. Basically, users no longer need to purchase a cable subscription to watch their favorite shows.
Of course it will be interesting to see how Showtime's new service impacts the streaming industry in general and if the influx in streaming services instigates a price war similar to that in the wireless industry.
