Showtime will launch standalone service before ‘Masters of Sex,’ ‘Ray Donovan’ season 3 premiere

Just in case you were wondering when Showtime was officially going to do battle with HBO in the standalone streaming service game, we now have some sort of official answer for you. It was announced today that come early July, the premium cable network will have its own competitive app on the market to let you watch not only live TV, but also a library of some past and present content. The app will be simply entitled Showtime, and it will run you $10.99 a month. That’s a good $4 less than the price of HBO NOW, but still $5 more than the CBS All Access app that was put out earlier this year. (CBS and Showtime are owned by the same parent company.)

In a statement, CBS head Les Moonves said the following about releasing this app, which is going to be at first just available via Apple:

“Going over-the-top means Showtime will be much more accessible to tens of millions of potential new subscribers … 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.”

This app should be available in time for the premieres of “Masters of Sex” and “Ray Donovan,” and also will be there for the upcoming seasons of “The Affair” and “Homeland,” and of course the long-awaited and finally-happening continuation of “Twin Peaks” that will most likely premiere next year.

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