Showtime Stand-Alone Service to Launch in July to Apple Customers

NEW YORK: Showtime has officially unveiled its stand-alone internet streaming service, which will debut in early July, with Apple as its first partner.

Subscribers will have unlimited on demand access to every season of award-winning Showtime original series, and hundreds of hours of movies, documentary and sports programming, as well as the live broadcast of the East and West Coast feeds of Showtime. Showtime will offer a 30-day free trial to new customers who sign up through Apple in July. iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV users will be able to subscribe to Showtime as a stand-alone service on the Showtime app anywhere in the U.S., for $10.99 per month to view on all Apple devices.

“Going over-the-top means Showtime will be much more accessible to tens of millions of potential new subscribers,” said Leslie Moonves, CBS Corporation’s president and CEO. “Across CBS, we are constantly finding new ways to monetize our programming by capitalizing on opportunities presented by technology. This works best when you have outstanding premium content—like we do at Showtime—and when you have a terrific partner like Apple—which continues to innovate and build upon its loyal customer base.”

“At Showtime, we’re excited to offer consumers the opportunity to subscribe in new ways, by simply having an internet connection,” added Matthew Blank, the chairman and CEO of Showtime Networks. “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.”
 
“We’re excited to offer Apple customers Showtime’s live channels and extensive on demand library of great TV shows and movies, without a cable or satellite subscription,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior VP of internet software and services. “iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV customers will now be able to subscribe to Showtime directly and instantly start viewing their favorite programming with the same simplicity as buying an app.”