Confirmed: DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM Customers Will Not Lose Access to SHOWTIME Content in December
The SHOWTIME Anytime App is being sunset next month, but DIRECTV and DIRECTV STREAM subscribers will still be able to access content from the channel.
Paramount Global really wants people to start using Paramount+ with Showtime. The company integrated content from SHOWTIME onto its ad-free tier of Paramount+ in June, as a way to give customers a more comprehensive streaming product that includes the libraries of both streamers.
- The standalone SHOWTIME app will be sunset by the end of this year.
- Users will also lose access to the SHOWTIME Anytime app, which allows authenticated users to sign in with their pay-TV credentials and watch SHOWTIME content on-demand.
- DIRECTV has confirmed that customers with Showtime as part of their plan will still get it, and on-demand content from the channel will also be available.
Are DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM Losing Access to SHOWTIME?
The combination of Paramount+ and SHOWTIME in a single plan left the standalone SHOWTIME app as a redundancy. That’s why Paramount Global removed all options for signing up to SHOWTIME on its own in late October, and why many users of the Showtime linear channel have been warned they’ll lose access to the SHOWTIME Anytime app on Dec. 14. DIRECTV and DIRECTV STREAM customers began receiving notification of the shuttering of SHOWTIME Anytime this week.
And so it begins. While Par Global has said it has done deals with major cable operators to give some cable customers free access to P+ with SHO, DirectTV customers like me are being told to prepare for NO streaming access to SHO next month unless they have P+ https://t.co/zPrzFdG3ym pic.twitter.com/qaKbjBM4ym
— TVMoJoe (@TVMoJoe) November 14, 2023
This means that customers who could use their login credentials to watch on-demand SHOWTIME content via SHOWTIME Anytime will not be able to do so for much longer. However, a DIRECTV spokesperson has confirmed to The Streamable that users who have Showtime as part of their plan will still get that channel as normal on all DIRECTV platforms (including streaming apps), and on-demand Showtime content will be available starting on channels 545 throughout the Showtime channel range. Users will NOT lose access to the linear Showtime channel on Dec. 14, only the SHOWTIME Anytime app.
Will Paramount+ with Showtime Be Bundled in With DIRECTV STREAM for Free?
As of now, there has been no announcement that DIRECTV will offer free access to Paramount+ with Showtime as part of its subscription fees. Paramount Global said when they shuttered the standalone SHOWTIME app that some cable providers would get access to its streamer included, but a full list is not currently available.
Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish did confirm to Wall Street analysts that his company was interested in bundling access to its streaming service with more pay-TV plans, however, so such a deal could be forthcoming in the future. Paramount+ already has several such agreements in place around the world, particularly in Europe.
Look for more and more streaming services to start offering access to their plans via a bundle with cable subscriptions in the future. Disney and Spectrum showed the industry the way in their September carriage agreement, which provides Spectrum TV customers no-cost access to Disney+ as part of their subscription. Disney gets to increase scale on its streaming platforms, as well as collect advertising revenues from the new subscribers, while Spectrum can offer its customers better value on their cable plans.
Whether Paramount and DIRECTV will strike a similar bargain in the future remains to be seen, but DIRECTV and DIRECTV STREAM customers with Showtime can breathe a sigh of relief this week. The SHOWTIME Anytime app may be shutting down on Dec. 14, but DIRECTV subscribers will still have access to linear and on-demand content from the channel.
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM is a live TV streaming service, which is essentially the streaming version of the DIRECTV service. All packages include local channels and at least 31 of the top 35 cable channels. New subscribers can get a free Gemini streaming device from the company, in which case the service is called “DIRECTV via Internet.”