Hulu adds Showtime OTT

Hulu will add Showtime’s new standalone OTT service to its subscription line-up from next month in time for new seasons of Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex.

The US online video joint venture, from 21st Century Fox, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Disney, has got together with Showtime parent CBS to add the upcoming service to its bouquet.

CBS unveiled details of Showtime OTT earlier this month, starting out with Apple TV as distribution partner for the US$10.99 per month product. It then announced widened availability via Roku and Sony’s PlayStation Vue.

The pact with Hulu is different, however, in that the company is subsidising Showtime OTT to the tune of US$2 for customers already signed up to Hulu’s US$7.99 per month package, meaning it will cost them an additional US$8.99.

The move, announced by Showtime Networks chairman and CEO Matthew Blank and Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins, is seen as a determination by some of the US’s largest media companies to band together in a bid to fend off Netflix.

It remains to be seen whether Time Warner’s HBO, which launched its US$14.99 OTT offering HBO Now in April, will reach a similar agreement with Hulu.