Showtime to offer streaming service

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Showtime will join rival HBO with an online streaming service for those who don’t want to pay for cable.

The cable channel said Wednesday that it will begin streaming in July for $10.99 a month on all Apple devices, including the iPad, iPhone and Apple TV. CBS Corp., which owns Showtime, said it will be available on non-Apple devices soon.

There’s been a shift to more online viewing. More cable-company customers subscribe for Internet service than their TV offerings, according to data provider SNL Kagan.

HBO rolled out a stand-alone streaming channel as the new season of its blockbuster “Game of Thrones” began in April, and Showtime has followed suit, seeking the same audiences that have flocked to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.com.

Networks and cable channels have begun to create stand-alone streaming services as a way to reach people who don’t subscribe to traditional cable packages that have dozens of channels.

“Going over-the-top means Showtime will be much more accessible to tens of millions of potential new subscribers,” said CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves, in a printed statement.

Showtime launches its streaming service, also revered to as “over-the-top content,” July 12.