• by Wayne Friedman , June 3, 2015

CBS will put its pay TV service Showtime into the stand-alone TV streaming category, joining the likes of Time Warner’s HBO Now, which started up some months ago.

For the new Showtime digital service, the monthly price tag will be $10.99/month -- $4 less than HBO Now’s $14.99. Showtime service will start up to coincide with the new seasons of “Ray Donovan” and “Masters of Sex” on July 12.

The launch will be on Apple digital products on the iOS platform -- iPhone, iPad, iPad Touch, and Apple TV -- with additional platform devices coming later.

The new Showtime digital service will offer the live coastal feeds and unlimited on-demand access to original series as well as movies and sports programming. Showtime will offer a 30-day free trial to new customers who sign up through Apple in July.

“Going over-the-top means Showtime will be much more accessible to tens of millions of potential new subscribers,” stated Les Moonves, president/chief executive officer of CBS Corp.

Showtime has 27.7 million pay TV subscribers from cable, satellite and telco operators. HBO has 35.8 million pay TV subscribers.

Last October, CBS launched a $5.99-a-month stand-alone, streaming ad-supported TV service, CBS All Access -- where users can access past seasons of current CBS shows and older library programs, as well as users being able to stream local TV stations live.