Showtime Anytime app comes to Roku’s set-top boxes

Showtime Anytime is now available on Roku set-top boxes. The video-on-demand app gives current cable subscribers access to Showtime’s lineup of original shows (both past and present), documentaries, sports specials, and other content. Using the Showtime Anytime app on Roku is free, but since this is standard TV Everywhere fare, you won’t be able to stream anything unless you’re a customer of AT&T U-verse, Brighthouse, Cablevision, DirecTV, Grande Communications, Time Warner Cable, or Verizon FiOS. (If it wasn’t obvious, you also need to subscribe to Showtime as part of your cable package.) Comcast is notably absent from that list, and it’s not the first time: HBO Go on Roku also excludes Comcast from its list of supported providers.

Still, if you can’t bear the sight of Netflix after binging on House of Cards season two, there’s a new source for your streaming fix. Showtime Anytime is available now, and you can also find it on Android, iOS, and Kindle Fire. The addition of Showtime also helps Roku maintain its ecosystem lead over other set-top box manufacturers. That’s not to say there haven’t been challenges; Roku only recently released a YouTube app for Roku 3, long after the video service had already arrived on competing TV-based platforms.