Just as we had all hoped, it looks like HBO’s announcement of an over-the-top service is starting a revolution in the TV industry. The Wall Street Journal reports that CBS is planning to offer its own standalone streaming service for Showtime as well. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said that the online offering will “fairly definitively” be available in 2015, making next year the most terrifying in recent history for cable providers across the United States.
FROM EARLIER: HBO will fulfill cord cutters’ dreams and launch a standalone streaming service next year
This news comes on the heels of the launch of a similar service for its broadcast network and the debut of CBSN, a 24-hour news streaming news service. CBS is has even agreed to stream its content on an unannounced standalone video platform from Sony.
The entertainment segment of CBS continued to grow in the third quarter of 2014, but like its rivals, CBS wants to find new ways to reach a wider audience. Showtime may not have the pedigree of HBO, but offering a standalone service is one of the only ways to bring on consumers that never would have signed up for a premium cable package in the first place.
