First AppleTV+ Bundle Includes CBS All Access And Showtime For $9.99 A Month
AppleTV+ may have some solid original programming under its belt, but the fledgling streaming service is still trying to find a way to try to gain some footing in the Streaming Wars. Now it's getting into the bundling game and offering its first-ever bundle, which will give subscribers access to AppleTV+, CBS All Access, and Showtime for just under $10 per month – that is, as long as you're using the free year of AppleTV+ which Apple gives out to people who purchase a new Apple device.9to5Mac (via The Verge) reports that current AppleTV+ subscribers in the United States "can now subscribe to CBS All Access and Showtime for $9.99 per month via Apple TV Channels, a 50% saving over buying both channels separately."
AppleTV+ costs $4.99 per month, Showtime costs $10.99 per month, and CBS All Access costs $9.99 per month. Individually, you'd be paying $21.97 for the three services. But thanks to this new AppleTV+ bundle, that cost drops down to $14.98 per month for all three services. If you're still on your free year of AppleTV+ from a recent device purchase, the price drops all the way to $9.99 per month for all three...until that year-long promotion runs out. All in all, that's a pretty solid deal – especially if you're into Star Trek, one of CBS All Access's primary franchises, or if you're looking forward to things like a screaming, bearded Ethan Hawke, a new show about the mafia from the writers of Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street, a new iteration of The Talented Mr. Ripley starring the Hot Priest from Fleabag, or that long-awaited TV adaptation of the mega-hit video game Halo.
Apple is rumored to be offering a bundle of its own services later this year, grouping things like Apple Music, AppleTV+, Apple News, and Apple Arcade for one discounted price. But in the meantime, they're willing to step outside the Apple ecosystem in an attempt to get a leg up in the Streaming Wars. It's not easy to compete with services like Disney+, especially when that platform has its own bundle that includes ESPN+ and Hulu. It's only a matter of time until consumers begin to reject the idea of paying big money for subscribing to multiple streaming services, so AppleTV+ knows it needs to wriggle into audiences' daily rotation in order to have a chance to survive when the inevitable purge finally does occur.