CBS bringing standalone, cable-free Showtime subscription to Apple TV [u]

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited June 2015
Just three months after HBO Now bowed on Apple TV, CBS is said to be in the final stage of preparations to launch a similar offering for Showtime, the broadcast network's HBO competitor, on Apple's set-top streamer.




Update: The new service -- called "Showtime" -- has been made official, and will launch on July 12 for $10.99 per month. It's exclusive to Apple's ecosystem for the moment, and users who sign up through Apple in July will receive a 30-day free trial.

The announcement could come later Wednesday or on Thursday, according to Variety. Like HBO Now, the new Showtime service would be an Apple exclusive at launch, with other platforms gaining access later on.

There is no word on how long such an exclusivity window would last, or how much the service would cost. HBO Now, which costs $14.99 per month, has been exclusive to Apple's platforms since it launched on April 7, but it has already been announced that it will arrive on other devices in the near future.

Like HBO, Showtime is known for a combination of original programming and an extensive movie library. Among the channel's most well-known efforts are the thriller Homeland, crime dramas Dexter and Weeds, and other shows like Californication and United States of Tara.

With word of the new service breaking so close to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, it's possible that the announcement will be made during the company's June 8 keynote address. HBO Now was featured at Apple's last event, with CEO Richard Plepler joining Apple's Tim Cook on stage.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 36
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    At $15/month I'd buy one streaming service at a time, rotate months, and get lots of content for way cheaper than cable.

    If the prices fall (or cost less bundled together) I'd consider 2 or 3 at a time.
  • Reply 2 of 36
    msanttimsantti Posts: 1,377member

    $15 + $15 + $15.............

     

    Starts to add up quick.

  • Reply 3 of 36
    johnnashjohnnash Posts: 129member
    Brighthouse bundles both HBO and Showtime for about $30 a month. If they actually want this to catch on then the need to set the price point below that rate as I'm sure they are not the only company that bundles..
  • Reply 4 of 36
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    msantti wrote: »
    $15 + $15 + $15.............

    Starts to add up quick.

    if you need that much service youd probably be better served w/ a cable.

    our household doesnt. Netflix and HBO are the only subscription content we're interested in.
  • Reply 5 of 36
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    I wish these exclusive deals were longer or permanent.

    Soon you'll hear Giggle, amazon, Roku, Sammy and others announcing these services as if they did all the work and steal customers from Apple.
  • Reply 6 of 36
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    johnnash wrote: »
    Brighthouse bundles both HBO and Showtime for about $30 a month. If they actually want this to catch on then the need to set the price point below that rate as I'm sure they are not the only company that bundles..

    if a cable operator sells the two channels for $30, then why does the internet version have to be less than $30? for sombody w/ no cable television, ordering them for $30 is still cheaper than picking up cable *then* paying $30 for them.
  • Reply 7 of 36
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NolaMacGuy View Post





    if you need that much service youd probably be better served w/ a cable.



    our household doesnt. Netflix and HBO are the only subscription content we're interested in.

    That's exactly what we're doing right now...watching a few mindless shows and a few entertaining movies and a few good documentaries. 

     

    I'm really enjoying HBO Now. Mainly b/c I'm a fan of Bill Maher. He doesn't get everything right, but he's very funny in a snarky sort of way. :)

     

    Best Regards.

  • Reply 8 of 36
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Gosh, lost in the news is Amazon's Fire TV service. They're somewhat quietly making huge moves.
    http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2015/06/03/amazon-adds-over-600-channels-apps-games-to-fire-tv/
  • Reply 9 of 36

    Paying for content is the way to go for me. I can't stand going to the movie theatre anymore.

     

    People eat like donkey's. Shoveling popcorn (loudly) down their gullets slurping down their 52oz soda! :)

     

    Where have proper manners gone?

     

    Best.

  • Reply 10 of 36
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member
    So does this mean they'll be pulling Dexter, Weeds, and Californication off Netflix, where they've been streaming for awhile now?
  • Reply 11 of 36
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post



    Gosh, lost in the news is Amazon's Fire TV service. They're somewhat quietly making huge moves.

    http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2015/06/03/amazon-adds-over-600-channels-apps-games-to-fire-tv/

    Is this a positive? AppleTV has a bunch of channels I never watch, just like on cable. I read FireTV doesn't separate the free "Prime" movies from pay per view making it difficult to find them. Sounds like someone else has UI problems.

  • Reply 12 of 36
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    Another $15, No thanks. HBO at $15 a month is also to much. BUT If all you like is GOT then wait for the season to be over and then Watch all the episodes within a month and the series cost you $15. Then you cancel and wait another year and pay another $15 and then cancel again. Or you cna buy a Season Pass from someone and own it, but that would cost you a little more.

    You would really have to watch a lot of HBO content to be worth paying $15 on top of anything else. It's a $180 a year. Then Showtime wants their $15, and CBS wants their $6, it makes no sense. It's just way to much money. I refuse to pay it. CBS, FREE with my big large Antenna. Lots to watch with the antenna. With MeTV and AntennaTV, I can see a lot of great old classic TV series that I watched as a kid. All recorded on my new TiVo which is replacing my Media Center setup.

    If they're trying to attract cable cutters, these high prices arn't going to work. Even SlingTV at $20 i think is way to much. $9.99, maybe. It's still the same old bundle type packages. Let me know when I can pick out the exact channels I want and you have a price next to that channel. That one 50 cents, that one $2, that one $1, get 5 or more, a 10% discount, 10 or more, a 20% discount. HSC, will pay for a channel, etc. Be creative, and get with the times.

    Can you imagine, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW all charging $6. That's $30 right there. What does cable change to have them? $10? With a Antenna they're FREE!!!
  • Reply 13 of 36
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JBDragon View Post



    Another $15, No thanks. HBO at $15 a month is also to much. BUT If all you like is GOT then wait for the season to be over and then Watch all the episodes within a month and the series cost you $15. Then you cancel and wait another year and pay another $15 and then cancel again. Or you cna buy a Season Pass from someone and own it, but that would cost you a little more.



    You would really have to watch a lot of HBO content to be worth paying $15 on top of anything else. It's a $180 a year. Then Showtime wants their $15, and CBS wants their $6, it makes no sense. It's just way to much money. I refuse to pay it. CBS, FREE with my big large Antenna. Lots to watch with the antenna. With MeTV and AntennaTV, I can see a lot of great old classic TV series that I watched as a kid. All recorded on my new TiVo which is replacing my Media Center setup.



    If they're trying to attract cable cutters, these high prices arn't going to work. Even SlingTV at $20 i think is way to much. $9.99, maybe. It's still the same old bundle type packages. Let me know when I can pick out the exact channels I want and you have a price next to that channel. That one 50 cents, that one $2, that one $1, get 5 or more, a 10% discount, 10 or more, a 20% discount. HSC, will pay for a channel, etc. Be creative, and get with the times.



    Can you imagine, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW all charging $6. That's $30 right there. What does cable change to have them? $10? With a Antenna they're FREE!!!

    I think people have unrealistic expectations on pricing for services such as HBO Now. $15 is more than reasonable for having access to HBO's entire catalog. It costs a lot more getting it through cable. I really can't see movie channels going for less than $15/month. People are nuts if they were expecting to pay $5-10 a month for HBO. I don't think HBO is trying to attract cable cutters. They are offering more options to get HBO. Why would HBO offer their programming for a lot cheaper than what it costs to add to a cable package? $15 already is a lot cheaper compared to having to pay for a basic package then adding on HBO. 

  • Reply 14 of 36
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    "The new service 2014 called "Showtime" 2014 has been made official"

    "it's possible that the announcement will be made during the company's June 8 keynote address."

    OK, I'm lost on how it has been made official yet no announcement has been made? Just because it was put out as a press release doesn't make it an announcement? Can someone please clear this up for me?

    Edit: nevermind. I imagine the update was put in and it wasn't made clear what part was the update and what wasn't.
  • Reply 15 of 36
    lymflymf Posts: 65member
    What I don't get is why CBS as a channel isn't on the Apple TV yet. They've got the news and sport there, showtime, so why not their own channel or the subscription one.
  • Reply 16 of 36
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    nolamacguy wrote: »
    if you need that much service youd probably be better served w/ a cable.

    our household doesnt. Netflix and HBO are the only subscription content we're interested in.
    and antenna for local channels, done.
  • Reply 17 of 36
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    boltsfan17 wrote: »
    I think people have unrealistic expectations on pricing for services such as HBO Now. $15 is more than reasonable for having access to HBO's entire catalog. It costs a lot more getting it through cable. <span style="line-height:1.4em;">I really can't see movie channels going for less than $15/month. People are nuts if they were expecting to pay $5-10 a month for HBO. I don't think HBO is trying to attract cable cutters. They are offering more options to get HBO. Why would HBO offer their programming for a lot cheaper than what it costs to add to a cable package? $15 already is a lot cheaper compared to having to pay for a basic package then adding on HBO. </span>
    I got HBO + local channels + 50Mbps internet for $49/mo with Comcast which includes HBO Go, Xfinity TV Go with StreamPix (like Netflix) for free. The stand-alone internet is already at $39.99/mo. So, my TV service is way cheaper.
  • Reply 18 of 36
    zer0her0zer0her0 Posts: 24member

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post

     

    Paying for content is the way to go for me. I can't stand going to the movie theatre anymore.

     

    People eat like donkey's. Shoveling popcorn (loudly) down their gullets slurping down their 52oz soda! :)

     

    Where have proper manners gone?

     

    Best.




    Tell me about it, I had a women next to me playing candy crush every 5 minutes in Avengers last week, she kept it in her bag which apparently made it ok, at least in her mind. I'm at the point of just waiting for the movies to stream at home.

    ?


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Boltsfan17 View Post

     

    I think people have unrealistic expectations on pricing for services such as HBO Now. $15 is more than reasonable for having access to HBO's entire catalog. It costs a lot more getting it through cable. I really can't see movie channels going for less than $15/month. People are nuts if they were expecting to pay $5-10 a month for HBO. I don't think HBO is trying to attract cable cutters. They are offering more options to get HBO. Why would HBO offer their programming for a lot cheaper than what it costs to add to a cable package? $15 already is a lot cheaper compared to having to pay for a basic package then adding on HBO. 


     

    Who are these apps/services trying to attract then? If you have HBO via Cable (i.e. a non cable cutter) you have HBO Go, why would someone that has those pay for HBO Now? Showtime subscribers (via cable, once again non cable cutters) have Showtime Anytime already. I think these services are aimed squarely at the cable cutters. That being said I think the biggest problem for cable cutters is we forget just how pricey cable tv is when it's not bundled or incentivized in new account/account retention packages.

  • Reply 19 of 36
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    cali wrote: »
    I wish these exclusive deals were longer or permanent.

    Soon you'll hear Giggle, amazon, Roku, Sammy and others announcing these services as if they did all the work and steal customers from Apple.

    What work would that be?
  • Reply 20 of 36
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    boltsfan17 wrote: »

    GO BOLTS! Stanley Cup Finals start tonight.
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