CBS' Showtime Could Offer An Online-Only Subscription

CBS COO Joseph Ianniello dropped a potential bombshell on the crowd at the Nomura Digital Media Conference in New York Thursday when he pointed out that nothing in Showtime's contracts with cable and satellite providers prevents it from offering the channel direct-to-consumers. In other words, there's nothing stopping CBS from offering an online standalone Showtime service that cord cutters could subscribe to without a cable or satellite subscription.

Ianiello didn't say that anything like this is in the works but still, it's a big deal. Networks like Showtime are cable's bulwark against cord cutters abandoning the service in droves. The cable companies are quickly making it easier than ever to watch content online through apps like HBO Go, FXNow and WatchESPN but there's a catch. In order to use them you have to authenticate that you have a cable or satellite subscription.

Showtime, home to popular shows like Homeland, Masters of Sex and Ray Donovan, could potentially change that model. If CBS does offer the network as an online subscription, it will be the first shot fired at the hegemony of cable. If other networks started to follow suit, we could be moving into an a la carte world where you only pay for the networks you want to watch.

Showtime isn't the only player discussing an online-only option. Dish Network recently signed a long term agreement with Disney that allows Dish to offer Disney channels, like ABC, Disney Channel and ESPN, as a standalone package to people who don't subscribe to Dish. Dish CEO Charlie Ergin hasn't been shy about his ambition to offer what's known as over the top services.

And with Time Warner rejecting Rupert Murdoch's $80 billion merger deal, there are discussions that a standalone HBO Go could boost Time Warner's bottom line and stock price. Janney Capital Markets media analyst Tony Wible estimates that for every 10 million subscribers who move to a direct-to-consumer HBO, Time Warner would gain $600 million in revenues and $7.2 billion in market cap.

Don't expect big changes any time soon. Companies like CBS and Time Warner don't want to anger the cable overlords just yet. As we've seen many times, these disputes can easily lead to blackouts and CBS doesn't suddenly want viewers sut out of The Big Bang Theory.

But as more and more viewers move to watching the majority of shows online, offering those shows directly might become too good of an opportunity to ignore.