In the streaming war, there are more and more platforms battling. Disney Plus, Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Movistar Plus, Filmin, Apple TV+… it is clear that the big brands have seen a gold mine in this new form of business and they are going to squeeze them for every penny. However, everything seems to indicate that only a few will remain in the future, and they don’t have to be the ones we think.
In the midst of this great war, a new fighter joined just over a year ago: SkyShowtime. Although it is not a well-known brand in Spain, it made perfect sense: it is the coalition of two of the largest television platforms in the United States, and they had already been operating internationally for some time.
With SkyShowtime, dozens of series and movies that had not seen the light in Spain arrived, and it also landed with a spectacular price: for 2.99 euros you could subscribe for life, if you were one of the first to do so. At the time, it caused quite a stir — although maybe not as much as they expected. But what is the health status of SkyShowtime one year later? Is it worth subscribing to the platform?
Is it worth subscribing to SkyShowtime?
First of all, SkyShowtime can boast of being in a fairly acceptable state. Despite still being one of the lesser-known platforms, in a year it has achieved some achievements such as reaching an agreement with the all-powerful Movistar Plus. In this way, all those who have a subscription to Movistar Plus can enjoy SkyShowtime, something that their data greatly appreciate and that allows them to continue growing.
However, the subscription price is no longer the same. Now, to subscribe to SkyShowtime you must pay 7.99 euros per month… a price very similar to other much more well-known platforms. In addition, this change has been very recent. Until April of this year it cost 5.99 euros… but they have raised the prices and it has ceased to be one of the best options in the market.
With this price increase, in fact, SkyShowtime loses a lot of sense. It was a good alternative to paying the absurd amounts that services like Netflix ask for, but now the price no longer matters… and SkyShowtime still has much less catalog, in general, than most of its competitors.
That being said, let’s be honest: they have some real gems on the platform. It is on SkyShowtime where we can enjoy, for example, the recently Oscar-winning Best Picture: Oppenheimer. But not only that: they also have some of the best series of all time in their catalog. The Offer, Poker Face, Twin Peaks, Yellowstone, Halo, Star Trek: Discovery… it is clear that their catalog has everything, and of much higher quality than some of their competitors.
As for original series, there’s not much to talk about. In Spain, it premiered Mentiras pasajeras, a series from the production company El Deseo —Almodóvar’s company—, which premiered without much fanfare despite the good reviews. It also features Las Invisibles and Bosé; high-quality series that are very local, and could be a good reason to subscribe to SkyShowtime. But it’s clear that it still needs some time to develop; it hasn’t premiered any original series that have been a big success yet, and it seems like we’ll have to wait for that to happen.
Ultimately, in this year of existence, SkyShowtime has become just another platform. It is no longer the great surprise it once was, nor the great opportunity due to its price… but it does have an interesting catalog worth checking out. However, is it a real alternative to Netflix, HBO Max, or Apple TV+? At the moment, it’s not so clear.
