Sony is here to kill the traditional cable TV experience with PlayStation Vue

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2014 12:59 User comments (9)

Sony has announced the launch of PlayStation Vue, a cloud-based TV service that will "reinvent" the traditional cable TV experience.

The service will start in beta for PlayStation consoles, and will launch with content from 75 networks including the majors like CBS, Fox, NBCU, Viacom and Discovery. More partnerships are expected in the future especially since Disney and Time Warner are noticeably absent. Disney is the owner of ABC and ESPN, two of the more popular stations for content on all of TV.

PlayStation Vue will offer both live TV and on-demand content but the company did not announce pricing except to say they would be "fair and competitive." Major media outlets have pegged that "fair" figure at about $70 and Sony did note that there are no contracts necessary, nor any additional fees or service charges. You will need a PS3 or PS4, however, which ranges from $150-$400.

"Everyday TV is about to become extraordinary with our new cloud‐based TV service, PlayStation Vue," said Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment and group executive in charge of the network entertainment business. "PlayStation Vue reinvents the traditional viewing experience so your programming effortlessly finds you, enabling you to watch much more of what you want and search a lot less."

"PlayStation Vue brings the best of live TV and a robust catalog of the latest content, always keeping you connected to what's popular, new and trending."

By being cloud-based, subscribers can also save shows "without storage restrictions or scheduling conflicts," gaining access for 28 days to watch at their own leisure.

Sony listed the partners and what channels, content will be available at launch:

CBS: at launch, the service will offer signals from owned-and-operated CBS TV stations in selects markets along with on-demand primetime programming

Discovery Communications: Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science, OWN, Discovery Family Channel, plus 11 others

Fox: Fox's owned-and-operated TV stations, FX, FXX, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, BTN, regional sports networks, including YES Network

NBCUniversal: all local offerings from NBC, Telemundo and regional sports networks, Bravo, CNBC, E!, NBCSN, Oxygen, Sprout, Syfy, USA, others

Scripps Networks Interactive: HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Cooking Channel

Source:
THR

Tags: cable TV Sony PlayStation Vue

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9 user comments

115.11.2014 05:24

SoTired

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So, basically, I buy some hardware, then pay a bunch of money every month to get a whole bunch of channels, even though I'll only watch a few of those channels.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

The problem with the cable/satellite model is not the technology they use to distribute content; the problem is the business model of bundled programming. Kudos to NFL network, CBS, HBO, UFC, and the numerous other content creators who are streaming content on an a la carte basis.

With current technology, there is simply no need for a middleman bundler.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 15 Nov 2014 @ 5:25

215.11.2014 11:14

DVDBack23

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Originally posted by SoTired:
So, basically, I buy some hardware, then pay a bunch of money every month to get a whole bunch of channels, even though I'll only watch a few of those channels.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

The problem with the cable/satellite model is not the technology they use to distribute content; the problem is the business model of bundled programming. Kudos to NFL network, CBS, HBO, UFC, and the numerous other content creators who are streaming content on an a la carte basis.

With current technology, there is simply no need for a middleman bundler.

It is exactly like cable, except with a bit more flexibility. The industry will get to a full a la carte, no device restriction world...eventually.

317.11.2014 03:21

xnonsuchx

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Most of the "packages" are due to content providers making cable/satellite companies take them (e.g. you can't have MTV and Comedy Central for X dollars/mo. because you have to take them along with MTV2, VH-1, CMTV, Nickelodeon, NickToons and TV Land for 2.5-3 times X dollars/mo.). That's usually what the contract negotiations that end up leading to outages for a while are over...the cable/satellite companies saying some of the extra channels they have to take aren't popular enough for them to want to pay that much for them.

418.11.2014 12:42

rbi149

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Originally posted by SoTired:
So, basically, I buy some hardware, then pay a bunch of money every month to get a whole bunch of channels, even though I'll only watch a few of those channels.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

The problem with the cable/satellite model is not the technology they use to distribute content; the problem is the business model of bundled programming. Kudos to NFL network, CBS, HBO, UFC, and the numerous other content creators who are streaming content on an a la carte basis.

With current technology, there is simply no need for a middleman bundler.

The NFL Network does not stream live game broadcasts, only archived material.

518.11.2014 15:42

voyager

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Basically the same thing, what is the revolution?

619.11.2014 06:57

Mr-Movies

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It's the iPeople marketing approach, reinvent the wheel and pretend it never existed before. These days it works well, people buy in willingly, you can't blame them for pounding that model as it's the masses that set the way.

Sad but true!
Dumb and Dumber 2

719.11.2014 12:13

SProdigy

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Senior Member

Originally posted by rbi149:
The NFL Network does not stream live game broadcasts, only archived material.

They do, but not in the US. I do believe that's part of their Sunday Ticket contract with DirecTV.

As for everything going "a la carte" we have to be careful what we wish for. I'd rather spend $100 to get 500 channels then pay $10 to ESPN, another $10 to HBO and before you know it, I only have 10 channels for that same $100.

819.11.2014 22:05

Mr-Movies

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And that is how it would work, it's amazing that people don't get that especially when we see it in place and working in areas like air travel one of the more recent models and that is just one of many examples.

921.11.2014 14:09

Drunken1

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Better yet build a cheap HTPC running XBMC/Kodi and Pay nothing outside of your internet access bill for all that content and more.

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Sony is here to kill the traditional cable TV experience with PlayStation Vue

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