Fans of Lifetime’s melodramatic movies can now see them for $4 a month – without subscribing to cable.
Lifetime’s online video service is the latest move by an entertainment company to bypass the traditional cable bundle, which easily tops $70 a month. For example, HBO has made its shows and movies available online for $15 a month to people who don’t pay for cable, while Showtime has an $11-a-month service debuting this month. CBS and Nickelodeon also have Internet offerings that don’t require a cable subscription.
Subscribers to Lifetime’s service won’t get the regular cable channel, which has ads and is available on many cable and satellite lineups. Rather, the Lifetime Movie Club service will let viewers watch a rotating pool of movies, about 30 at a time, from Lifetime’s library of more than 300 films. They will be shown without commercials. The channel’s reality shows and scripted TV series won’t be available.
Lifetime has long been known for its movies about stalkers, affairs gone bad and thrillers based on juicy headlines. It has been trying to appeal to younger audiences with such movies as “Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B.” It also has reality shows like “Little Women: LA” and the dance show “Bring It.”
“Lifetime movies definitely have a long history but they’ve changed over the years. Some of our biggest events on Lifetime are the movies,” said Dan Suratt, executive vice president for digital at A+E Networks, which owns Lifetime as well as the History channel and A+E.