Showtime Anytime, Plus Showtime Social, Equals Seriously Interactive TV
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Major cable channels are finally catching on. The TV viewing public does not want to be shackled to some CEO’s scheduling decisions. They want to watch the shows they want, when they want and where they want. Showtime is throwing their hat into the ring with Showtime Anytime and Showtime Social.
Showtime’s subscribers can now watch TV shows and movies at their leisure. The next step in becoming truly interactive is to offer direct subscriptions so that we are not forced to go through cable providers to access the content we want.
Comcast subscribers can take advantage of Showtime Anytime through Xfinity.com and AT&T U-verse offers subscribers the ability to access ShowtimeAnytime.com directly. After authenticating your subscription account, the site allows you to log in and watch original programs such as Dexter, Weeds and Nurse Jackie, as well as movies, sports and documentaries.
You can create your own customized list of shows from “My List.” This feature lets you add your favorite shows to your own personal directory. TV shows can then be accessed directly and new episodes are automatically delivered.
In addition to jumping on the TV Everywhere bandwagon, Showtime has created a social networking app for the iPad called Showtime Social. Users can read and respond to Facebook and Twitter comments as a show airs. There are also polls to take, predictions to make and additional content to access. The app is free, but like Showtime Anytime, you must authenticate your subscription before being able to take advantage of everything the app has to offer.
In an interview with MultiChannel News, Tom Christie, executive vice president of affiliate sales for Showtime explained that the company is aware of the direction that television viewing is headed. From MultiChannel News:
“You have to have your head in the sand not to recognize that people are accessing content anytime and anywhere they want,” Christie said. “The TV business is not going to be relegated to the big HDTV set in the living room — it’s going to be accessed via PC’s and tablets. To continue to be relevant to consumers, a network has to make their content available when and where the consumer wants it, so we want to be on the curve as these markets develop.”
You know what I’ve wanted since the mid eighties? I’ve wanted to be able to subscribe to individual channels. I don’t want to pay $90 per month for 200 channels that I won’t ever watch. I am excited to see that cable channels are becoming more interactive with their customer base, but they are still missing the one thing that would make people like me pay for television, direct subscriptions. Until then, I’ll continue to find ways around the system in order to avoid paying the high cable premium.
[Via: MultiChannel News, Engadget]
