Premium Channel 'Showtime Anytime' Comes to Apple TV

[pubius]

If you watch more than 4 or 5 channels a-la-carte will cost more. HBO alone would want $8+

True, but I'm sure you know that streaming channels are not like old "channels". Who would need 4 or 5 channels when netflix offers thousands of TV shows and movies. I abandoned cable a while back for faster internet and just a few streaming channels and I would never (ever) go back. On top of that, I'm paying $50 less in total and reaping the benefits of faster internet in regards to everything else my work requires also.

I get live streaming news for free (just like we all used to) on the other channels. Sports channels will get there at some point. A lot of streaming "channels" are free just like they used to be as advertising (rightly) pays the fees. Sadly Hulu is taking from both sides of this equation, as they both change and run ads. Other channels do not (crackle comes to mind). The times they are a changin.

 

[d21mike]

Really.
I skipped cable TV and did not know watching TV cost that much.
Antenna to just let tv talk, and Netflix & iTunes are just fine for my life.

Most of the cost is not the basic TV content. You can add basic TV content for $10-20 per month on top of you Internet package. The big cost is hardware and premium packages. I wish the cord cutters would quit saying it is $200 per month for TV content. Very misleading.

 

[pubius]

Most of the cost is not the basic TV content. You can add basic TV content for $10-20 per month on top of you Internet package. The big cost is hardware and premium packages. I wish the cord cutters would quit saying it is $200 per month for TV content. Very misleading.

No, not $200. But for basic cable and slow internet I was paying around $120. It is in no way $10 or $20 to stack on top of cable. Cut the cord.

 

[kds1]

or "hobby" level interest or disinterest

Grammar police: It's "no interest" or "uninterest". Disinterest is wrong.

Pet peeve: People who don't know the difference between "uninterested" and "disinterested". Look them up. Use them correctly.

 

[4jasontv]

Mainly because no cable box on every TV. They cost about $10 per month. If you have 10 TV's then that is $100 per month just for the boxes. I have a 5 bedroom house with TV's, plus all of the other rooms. Also, a hassle to switch back and forth from ATV (with Netflix and other shows) to the CABLE TV Box. Would be nice if ATV had a HDMI Passthru like other solution so solve that problem.

1. The ATV, while small, is basically a cable box.

2.
Lorraine Baines: It's our first television set. Dad just picked it up today. Do you have a television?
Marty McFly: Well, yeah. You know we have... two of them.
Milton Baines: Wow! You must be rich.
Stella Baines: Oh, honey, he's teasing you. Nobody has two television sets.

3. XBoxOne.

----------

No, not $200. But for basic cable and slow internet I was paying around $120. It is in no way $10 or $20 to stack on top of cable. Cut the cord.

Comcast here charges $15 for basic cable. Kind of. It called "Life Line Cable" and is the same channels you would get OTA with a digital antenna.

 

[pubius]

Comcast here charges $15 for basic cable. Kind of. It called "Life Line Cable" and is the same channels you would get OTA with a digital antenna.

So you're actually trying to tell me that after taxes, fees, etc, that your basic cable is $15? I find that very, very difficult to believe.

Obviously you are not including internet either, which is something we all need at this point, and often there are monopolies so the ISP options are extremely limited. In LA they tell you the bundled plan for cable and internet is $79.99, but like I said, for me, after all the fees and taxes, another $40 or so gets tacked on. It's pretty astounding how bad it is.

 

[d21mike]

No, not $200. But for basic cable and slow internet I was paying around $120. It is in no way $10 or $20 to stack on top of cable. Cut the cord.

I did not say $200. I said OTHERS say $200. And no you are wrong, it is between $10 - $20 per month.

Examples:

Time Warner Cable:
Starter TV (20+ channels) without Internet is $19.99
Starter TV + Internet (15mb) is $44.99
Internet alone (15mb) is $34.99.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/tv/digital-cable-tv.html


So, what I was saying is you only pay $10 extra to get basic TV on top of your Internet Package. Of course you do not get any STB or Premium Channels etc. as I said.

Also, with TWC you can use the TWC APP on the ROKU Box and in some locations you can get up to 300 channels based on what your package. So again, only $10 over your internet for basic tv.

Verizon FIOS:
http://www.verizon.com/home/fiostv/

FiOS TV LOCAL - 17 channels of which 5 are HD - $12.99 Per Month
Based on your Internet Bundle maybe cheaper.

Someone here posted their base was about $15.

So as you can see the cord cutters are completely over exaggerating the cost of basic TV Content.

 

[FieldingMellish]

I really give a crap about announcements of apps that require cable TV service in order to properly run.

 

[4jasontv]

So you're actually trying to tell me that after taxes, fees, etc, that your basic cable is $15? I find that very, very difficult to believe.

Obviously you are not including internet either, which is something we all need at this point, and often there are monopolies so the ISP options are extremely limited. In LA they tell you the bundled plan for cable and internet is $79.99, but like I said, for me, after all the fees and taxes, another $40 or so gets tacked on. It's pretty astounding how bad it is.

Nope. I'm saying Life Line Cable is $15, and while I don't know the exact amount of taxes and fees (since I don't have it) I doubt its more than 20%. So the $15 might actually be closer to $18 a month. Still under the other posters $20 a month. And yeah, I wasn't including internet, since we were talking about low cost TV.

You don't get a lot of choices to watch, but you do have cable TV.

 

[d21mike]

I really give a crap about announcements of apps that require cable TV service in order to properly run.

I think what you are saying is that you give a crap about anything that is NOT FREE. Why not leave cable TV service out of it. If I am wrong, what is the maximum you would pay for HBO Go and or Showtime on your Apple TV?

 

[charlituna]

App Store Apple...allow choice. Not complicated.

if they keep this up and don't increase storage for rentals, etc then yes I agree with you. if my space is that limited then I should be allowed to decide how it is used.

but more important is that we need a way to validate for these apps outside of a cable subscription. I would happily pay $99 a year for the 'basics' with an extra $25 a year each for Showtime, HBO, Starz. I'd even toss in an extra $99 a year for the international channels like BBC, iTV, Sky. Especially if I could also use them on my iPad and iPhone. Total bargain

----------

We traditional broadcasters only care about verifiable eyeballs.

Certainly not that way in the US where the whole ratings system is based on a sampling and not a very large one.

things like iTunes buys and streaming can get more verification of eyeballs in real numbers than the ratings ever could. and yet the broadcasters are loathe to adopt such methods

----------

Apple is scared to release any updates because they can't release their "grand vision" Apple TV. They've been holding back a superior product because they can't get the content deals in place. And they won't anytime soon. The new Apple TV will be delayed, as it has been months after months.

was it Tim, Phil or Jony that told you this.

 

[LethalWolfe]

True, but I'm sure you know that streaming channels are not like old "channels". Who would need 4 or 5 channels when netflix offers thousands of TV shows and movies. I abandoned cable a while back for faster internet and just a few streaming channels and I would never (ever) go back. On top of that, I'm paying $50 less in total and reaping the benefits of faster internet in regards to everything else my work requires also.

I get live streaming news for free (just like we all used to) on the other channels. Sports channels will get there at some point. A lot of streaming "channels" are free just like they used to be as advertising (rightly) pays the fees. Sadly Hulu is taking from both sides of this equation, as they both change and run ads. Other channels do not (crackle comes to mind). The times they are a changin.

Netflix licenses 99% of its content which is why it only costs users $10/mo. If all content on Netflix was original content the price would be much, much higher. Netflix typically only gets 'older' movies and TV shows and this also keeps the price down. Hulu, which also licenses 99% of it's content, has access to newer shows which explains the monthly charge even though their are also ads. If Hulu didn't run ads I'm sure the monthly charge would be much more. And, again, it would be even more than that if Hulu footed the production costs of all the shows it streams as opposed to just footing the licensing costs.

You can't really compare Netflix to cable channels or TV networks because Netflix occupies a very different role in the marketplace. Without cable channels, TV networks and movie studios taking the finical risk to pay for TV shows and movies to get made Netflix wouldn't exist. Sure, Netflix is creating a few of its own shows but it's still basically a video rental subscription service.

 

[MattInOz]

App Store Apple...allow choice. Not complicated.

Yes Apple gives us un-Amercians some AppleTV love.

 

[d21mike]

but more important is that we need a way to validate for these apps outside of a cable subscription. I would happily pay $99 a year for the 'basics' with an extra $25 a year each for Showtime, HBO, Starz. I'd even toss in an extra $99 a year for the international channels like BBC, iTV, Sky. Especially if I could also use them on my iPad and iPhone. Total bargain.

$25 each PER YEAR for Showtime, HBO etc. is only about $2 per month. Did you mean $25 each PER MONTH? And who do you get your Internet from?

 

[2010mini]

ITT people who want actors, directors, writers, crew people, location scouts, designers... Etc to make less money so they can enjoy their hard work on the cheap.

Question..... Would you like to take a pay cut so your company's customers get their products/services cheaper???

Because that is what you are argueing. It takes a lot of people to create the content you love watching. These people get paid by studios who produce that content for large sums of money.

Studios are not going to take a pay cut so you can get tv for $10 per channel. Neither are all the people who make those programs happen.

And for those that do not understand why OTA channels on ATV needs a cable verification:

The networks already spends money to transmit content OTA. For that signal to get to you any other way, it's call RE-transmission. They will not allow anyone to retransmit and profit from their hard work for free. So go put an antenna on your roof and stop complaining

 

[Jakexb]

It's crazy that they'd pick a name that doesn't fit under the icon.

I generally find the "appified" names of the networks a little goofy.

HBO GO
Showtime Anytime
FOX NOW
WATCH ESPN
WATCH ABC

Can't they just be the network?

 

[bailorg]

Now about that activation process...

Unlike other channels where the screen directs me to a webpage to simply login to my existing cable/sat account, Showtime is requiring subscribers to create a whole new "Showtime Anytime" account in order to activate full access to the channel.

Oh, and you have to visit the activation page from a freaking computer. If you try to visit the site from a iPhone or iPad, the page merely tells you to go download the Showtime app.

Really, Showtime?

 

[topdrawer]

Nothing loads for me. All i get is the spinning icon. How am i suppose to activate this thing?

 

[audunhaugland]

Finally NRK!

I love that NRK is on the Apple TV now! The app has already come to good use.
Now I only hope they update it to support live-streaming too

 

[FieldingMellish]

It’s disappointing to read about new things added to Apple TV that, at some point in the article, is the stipulation that you have to have an expensive cable subscription; a subscription that I'm happily done with because it pays the cable monopoly for hundreds of stations that I’ll never watch.

 

[mattopotamus]

True, but I'm sure you know that streaming channels are not like old "channels". Who would need 4 or 5 channels when netflix offers thousands of TV shows and movies. I abandoned cable a while back for faster internet and just a few streaming channels and I would never (ever) go back. On top of that, I'm paying $50 less in total and reaping the benefits of faster internet in regards to everything else my work requires also.

I get live streaming news for free (just like we all used to) on the other channels. Sports channels will get there at some point. A lot of streaming "channels" are free just like they used to be as advertising (rightly) pays the fees. Sadly Hulu is taking from both sides of this equation, as they both change and run ads. Other channels do not (crackle comes to mind). The times they are a changin.

I think it would also hurt services like hulu and netflix. The actual stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc) would want you to pay a fee for their service. Instead of paying $7 a month and get a few channels hulu would be crippled or jump way up in price.

 

[2010mini]

Unlike other channels where the screen directs me to a webpage to simply login to my existing cable/sat account, Showtime is requiring subscribers to create a whole new "Showtime Anytime" account in order to activate full access to the channel.

Oh, and you have to visit the activation page from a freaking computer. If you try to visit the site from a iPhone or iPad, the page merely tells you to go download the Showtime app.

Really, Showtime?

Unlike other channels, you can activate ATV Showtime from your iphone/iPad app.

Very simple. No need to open a web browser.

 

[matrix6028]

Me Too

Nothing loads for me. All i get is the spinning icon. How am i suppose to activate this thing?

Is it broke already?

 

[bailorg]

Unlike other channels, you can activate ATV Showtime from your iphone/iPad app.

Very simple. No need to open a web browser.

If I want the app on my device and presumably set up a Showtime Anytime account.

 

[d21mike]

Unlike other channels where the screen directs me to a webpage to simply login to my existing cable/sat account, Showtime is requiring subscribers to create a whole new "Showtime Anytime" account in order to activate full access to the channel.

Oh, and you have to visit the activation page from a freaking computer. If you try to visit the site from a iPhone or iPad, the page merely tells you to go download the Showtime app.

Really, Showtime?

At the top of the page is a LOGIN which I used my normal FIOS Login. Then I change the URL to add the /activate and I completed the activation. What I do not like about Showtime is that you have to manage your devices. You can only have 5 devices and I think the browser is one of them. I have multiple iPads and iPhones and AppleTV's. Certainly more the 5.