Showtime launching standalone streaming service

Showtime will join rival HBO with a standalone online streaming service for those that don't want to pay for cable.

The cable channel said Wednesday that it will begin streaming in July for $10.99 a month on all Apple devices, including the iPad, iPhone and Apple TV. CBS Corp., which owns Showtime, said it will be available on non-Apple devices soon.

The shift to online viewing has accelerated and there are now more people subscribing to Internet than TV, according to data provider SNL Kagan.

HBO rolled out a stand-alone streaming channel, HBO Now, as the fifth season of its blockbuster "Game of Thrones" began in April and Showtime has followed suit, seeking the same audiences that have flocked to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.com.

Networks and cable channels have begun to create stand-alone streaming services as a way to reach people who don't subscribe to traditional cable packages that have dozens of channels.

"Going over-the-top means Showtime will be much more accessible to tens of millions of potential new subscribers," said CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves, in a printed statement.

HBO Now can be had for $14.99 per month for anyone owning an Apple device and it will be available on Android devices this summer. CBS already has a streaming service for its network, CBS All Access, where customers can watch "The Big Bang Theory" and other CBS shows for $5.99 a month. And Noggin, owned by Viacom Inc., lets users stream "Blue's Clues" and other children's shows for $5.99 a month.

Showtime launches its streaming service, also revered to as "over-the-top content," on July 12 -- in time for new episodes of "Masters of Sex" and "Ray Donovan," which both return that night.