Premium cable channel EPIX — a joint venture between Viacom, Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and MGM — is getting ready to launch a new feature that will provide users with offline viewing capabilities on mobile devices, including Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, and Kindle Fire devices. The news follows Amazon’s recent announcement that its Prime members would be able to view Amazon Instant Video content offline. However, the EPIX feature will be included in the channel’s TV Everywhere apps, and will not be available to over-the-top subscribers.

According to TechCrunch, “EPIX app users will need to have a cable or satellite subscription from a company like AT&T U-verse, Bright House Networks, Cox, Dish, Time Warner, Verizon FiOS or others, in order to take advantage of the ability to download movies for offline viewing.”

The new offerings from EPIX and Amazon serve as an acknowledgement that consumers want to watch videos even when the Internet is not available. As a result, other video service providers may be compelled to follow suit.

However, Netflix recently stated that it does not plan to introduce offline viewing, “saying that the feature would add complexity and may not be broadly adopted, despite consumer demands,” notes TechCrunch. “That’s a reasonable enough decision, but one that reflects a more optimistic view of an Internet-connected future rather than the realities of the world we live in today.”