Showtime is reportedly in talks with Amazon, Apple and Roku – three key providers of unified streaming service platforms – about bundling different SVOD services together.
According to Reuters, Showtime is discussing bundles of two to three different services with diverse menus of content. The publication described the potential bundles as being able to “replace the cable bundle as a one-stop shop for programming.”
It’s unclear what other services would be bundled with Showtime, but CBS All Access, which is also owned and operated by CBS, would make sense as a candidate.
Showtime and All Access are already offered together at a discounted rate by CBS. For Showtime monthly subscribers who add the CBS All Access Limited Commercials plan to their Showtime subscription, the special combined price is $14.99/month. For Showtime monthly subscribers who add the CBS All Access Commercial Free plan, the special combined price is $18.99/month.
RELATED: Comcast and other ISPs eventually will bundle broadband and streaming video, analyst says
CBS and Showtime’s peers are also offering bundles of streaming services. Disney next week is launching its Disney+ streaming service priced at $6.99 per month. But the company will also sell the service bundled together with Hulu’s ad-supported service and ESPN+ for $12.99 per month.
During a recent event, WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey said that HBO Max and AT&T TV, the company’s new streaming television service, will be offered as a bundle in 2020. In 2021, the company will add an ad-supported service to HBO Max and, further down the road, the service will be home to live and interactive content along with special events.
Some in the industry believe it’s only a matter of time before ISPs begin offering bundles of streaming services along with high-speed broadband. Barclays expects about 10 new streaming services from legacy media and new entrants will launch over the next 12 months. This includes new services from Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Quibi and AT&T’s WarnerMedia. As the numbers grow, the firm believes we’ll see a mix of price and product bundles from ISPs which include multiple OTT services attached to a broadband connection at one price point.
“In our opinion, however, ISPs that can create product bundles will be a lot more effective than those creating price bundles but the only company which has invested in this among ISPs is Comcast,” wrote Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar in a research note.