Dish Subscribers Get Showtime Anytime and Other Streaming Improvements

At long last Dish subscribers can watch Showtime Anytime on media players and mobile devices. Showtime Anytime is the Showtime channel app that lets users stream all series, current movies, and other Showtime content. I can finally catch up on Homeland, Dexter and movies exclusive to Showtime by signing in with my Dish account credentials.

Showtime Anytime is free for those who subscribe to the Showtime channel on DISH. It's available on a limited number of devices including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Apple TV, as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android, and on the computer from a web browser. The mobile app will also cast to Chromecast or the Nexus Player.

Along with original series and movies, Showtime Anytime offers 60 Minutes Sports, special sports events, boxing, and the Showtime Sports Series All Acess. The Live TV feature shows the TV show episode or movie that is currently on Showtime East or Showtime West. The benefit is that you don’t have to wait until the episode is included in the Showtime Anytime on demand list. The downside is that t here are no playback controls when viewing Live TV.

Dish and CBS have had a long history of disagreements that lead to CBS bringing lawsuits against Dish in February 2014. It seems that Dish and CBS have made nice as they negotiated a deal last December that ended CBS’s suit against Dish’s ad-hopping feature. Coming after a 12-hour blackout of CBS programming on Dish’s satellite TV service, the two sides worked out to a new multi-year agreement that covers CBS stations, CBS Sports Network, Smithsonian Channel, TVGN and Showtime Networks. Part of the deal included rights to broadcast Showtime online and to mobile devices through the Showtime Anytime app.

Dish also agreed to drop the ad-hopping feature from primetime CBS TV shows for 7 days after the show is broadcast. Ad-hopping is available for TV shows on other networks the day after the show has aired.

While the deal took place in December 2014, it wasn’t until mid-March that the Dish authentication for Showtime Anytime became active. As a Dish subscriber, it was about the same time when I noticed that the option to skip commercials wasn’t available on CBS shows and I had to manually fast-forward.

Showtime On Demand will soon be added to Dish’s channel lineup in the same way that viewers can watch HBO and other prime channels by choosing an on demand channel from the channel guide.

Dish continues to improve its streaming experience with an update to the Dish Anywhere streaming app that now accommodates multiple users (much like profiles in Netflix). By creating separate profiles for each viewer, programming recommendations will be personalized for each person based on viewing habits, not household favorites. Lovers of action and zombie films will no longer be saddled with romantic comedy suggestions.

To set up the profiles in the mobile Dish Anywhere app, go to Settings and “Manage Profiles” and choose an avatar and username for your profile and select “admin” account (especially good for parents who want to lock kids out of certain TV content). After setting up your profile, you can set up profiles for others in your family.

COMMENTS
John Sully's picture

Thank god we can use this now. However the intrusive Showtime registration process is a pain. Ugh.

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