PlayStation Vue, Sony’s all-new TV service, has been officially announced and is coming in 2015 for both PS3 & PS4 owners! Pricing details weren’t disclosed. It will also roll out to “iPad” and other Sony & non-Sony devices later in 2015!
Here’s some commentary on this major Sony announcement and it’s implications for the TV industry as a whole:
PlayStation Vue is a shot across the bow at Microsoft who has always desired to make Xbox move beyond gaming and into the TV space. Talk about turning even the original Xbox into a DVR, much less the Xbox 360, has always been a Microsoft utopian dream.
Microsoft stepped closer to that reality than ever before with the Xbox One, which allows you access to a wide variety of TV features by plugging your cable directly into the Xbox One system and thus routing your TV through it, allowing you to access and control your TV experience in new ways.
Here’s the PlayStation Vue image gallery.
Click on any of these image thumbnails to see the full-size photos:
Now Sony has one-upped them in a major way, with the announcement of “PlayStationVue”, a new cloud-based TV service that will, quite literally, turn your PlayStation into a cable-box sans cable.
Only announced in the United States (so far), it will begin beta testing this month and will give users access to around 75 TV channels directly through their PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4 systems! No need to go through a cable company!
Best of all, no satellite or cable description is required, you will sign up for the service directly through Sony and they will deliver TV directly to your PlayStation system via the magic of “the Cloud”.
This is all thanks to Sony’s purchase of cloud-gaming company “Gaikai” (founded by Shiny Entertainment’s David Perry, of Earthworm Jim, MDK, Messiah, Wild-9, Enter the Matrix, Matrix: The Path of Neo, The Darkness, Age of Conan fame) in 2012, which Sony paid $380 million to purchase, and has lead to not only PlayStation Vue, but also “PlayStation Now“; a cloud-based backward-compatibility service that allows users to stream and play PS3 games via the cloud and is currently in beta in the United States; with PS1 & PS2 games scheduled to come in the future for an undisclosed monthly subscription price.
PlayStation Vue will include around 75 TV channels from major networks as well as local TV stations. It will include all the same TV shows, movies, commercials (I assume…), etc. that you’d get with normal TV.
So far, six major media corporations have signed on to PlayStation Vue, a new delivery method that is making cable company & satellite providers very nervous.
The six companies and the TV stations they own that will come with PlayStation Vue include: Fox, CBS, NBCUniversal, Discovery Communications, Scripps Networks and Viacom.
Among that bunch you’ll get:
CBS – At launch, PlayStation Vue will offer the live linear signal from CBS Television Network’s owned-and-operated TV stations in select leading markets in addition to on-demand prime-time programming.
Discovery Communications – Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Discovery Family Channel and 11 more brands.
Fox – Fox Networks Group’s portfolio of national entertainment programming services, including – FX, FXX, FXM, National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD. Additionally FOX Sports’ national and regional programming services – FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, BTN, Fox’s regional sports networks, including YES Network and Prime Ticket. The agreement also covers Fox’s owned and operated television stations. No word on whether Fox News & Fox Business are part of this deal. I hope so.
NBCUniversal – All local offerings from NBC, Telemundo and regional sports networks as well as Bravo, CNBC, E!, NBCSN, Oxygen, Sprout, Syfy, USA Network and more.
Scripps Networks Interactive – HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network and Cooking Channel.
Viacom – BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, PALLADIA, Spike, VH1 and more.
As you can see above, you’ll get highly-watched TV channels like MTV, Comedy Central, Food Network, Syfy, Travel Channel, Nickelodeon, Sprout, HGTV, National Geographic, Oxygen and Animal Planet among others.
And you’ll have access to a wide variety of features. Including Smart Search, the ability to fully filter and just search for what you want to watch by program, genre, ratings, popularity, length, etc., the ability to see what’s trending, and you’ll get recommendations based on your viewing, likes & dislikes.
DVR-style features come built-in to PlayStationVue. The last three days of “popular programming” can be accessed on-the-fly without any scheduling or saving necessary, and if you really want to watch something later, you can record/save up to 28 days worth of your favorite programs just by “Tagging” it. This data is all stored in the cloud, so it won’t effect your physical hard drive space.
The big “IF” however is pricing. Sony promises the following:
What You See is What You Pay – Fair and competitive price that is transparent with no hidden fees or charges.
No Contracts – Maximum flexibility as PlayStation Vue will be offered on a month-to-month basis without any penalty or customer service hassles for cancellation.
No Equipment or Installation Charges – No need to install or rent any additional equipment.
Pricing will apparently be on a month-to-month basis once it launches commercially in first-quarter 2015, although I’m sure yearly & other packages will be offered as well.
PlayStation Vue marks the first multi-channel TV service that runs entirely through the Internet and completely bypasses traditional cable & satellite TV providers, drastically upsetting the balance of how TV has been done up to this point.
This is something that has been long-in-coming however, especially in this modern age where many people have cut cable TV altogether and only have Internet access.
PlayStation Vue will get a phased rollout in certain markets, starting in New York; then extending to Chicago, Philadelphia & Los Angeles. So apparently it will slowly come to each big city and eventually be avilable across the United States (no plans for other countries yet)
Sadly however, it’s worth noting that Sony will probably never be able to get every TV channel onto Vue.
Notably missing from their catalog are huge and extremely popular channels like AMC (Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), everything Disney (including ESPN) and premium channels like HBO (so no Game of Thrones for you).
Although some of these shows are offered to purchase digitally via PlayStation Network or apps like HBO Go, so that will probably help fill in the gaps if there is anything truly missing. Not to mention there’s always Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc.
You also can’t pick and choose specific channels with PlayStation Vue in terms of pricing, instead you are going to be offered all 70+ for one price.
While Sony will be the first to offer TV through their box, other companies are eyeing this new market and new way to deliver television while bypassing cable & satellite, including both Verizon & Dish Network. Both of whom are offering online-only multi-channel video services that are coming soon, and have key TV stations lined up; some of which will include stations that Sony doesn’t have, like Disney.
Given all this, it remains to be seen whether PlayStation Vue will truly replace all of the gazillions of channels that you get with a cable or satellite TV subcription. But with over 35 million PS4s & PS3s in the wild, alongside over 300 million iPads… And who knows what other non-Sony devices Sony is eyeing for PlayStation Vue, it sounds like this will be one HECK of a homerun and a very, very lucrative deal.
Sony is banking on plenty of cable-cutters buying back into TV via their PlayStations, and plenty of non-PlayStation owners picking up the system just to use it to watch PlayStation Vue on their home television.
Now we gotta wait and see what Microsoft does, if anything, to counter Vue…
THIS.IS.HUGE.
I haven’t had cable television in my household for the past two or three years. I’ve considered getting it again, but all I’m really interested in is Fox News, CNN during elections, my local NBA sports team The Phoenix Suns, and…. Well that’s about it.
I do sometimes miss shows I used to watch like The First 48 & Dog the Bounty Hunter on A&E (now “Dog & Beth: On the Hunt” on CMT, Country Music Channel), Hoarders on TLC, American Pickers on History Channel, and those kind of shows. I guess all-told I’m a reality show junkie. But only if it’s a show of substance.
So I haven’t cared much about not having television, and I actually consider it really nice to not have the sound of TVs blaring throughout the house from all corners like in the days when everyone was watching TV all the time.
Now everyone simply watches shows on their own devices, typically with headphones, in a more personal way. This makes for a lot of quiet, and I like the quiet.
Having said all this, PlayStation Vue is DEFINITELY something I am interested in. Although no Fox News means no deal for me, as that’s what I spend the majority of my time digesting. I currently do it online via the official website (in clips, which is annoying) or sometimes via a site like TVPC. To get sports I simply torrent them.
But PlayStation Vue is enticing enough that it will make me seriously, seriously reconsider my future purchase of an Xbox One in favor of the PS4. I think it’s that big of a deal.
I’ve had my heart set on an Xbox One cause it has the games I’m truly interested in most: Quantum Break, Ori & the Blind Forest, Inside, Cuphead, Ryse: Son of Rome, Killer Instinct, TitanFall, Dead Rising 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Sunset Overdrive, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Scalebound. That’s enough to sell me.
HOWEVER… That PS4 is looking mighty enticing…
What’s amazing about PlayStation Vue is that, as mentioned above, Microsoft has been talking about turning Xbox into a TV device since the original Xbox in 2001. Still, to this day, they have not delivered and it has never come to fruition…. Now Sony has pulled the rug out from under them in spectacular fashion, and put another feather in their cap.
The flag has been planted firmly in PS4’s camp… But how will Microsoft respond? I have a feeling they may simply offer a TV service of their own, and we’ll have a TV price-war going on. Which would be a win-win for everyone.
Competition is good!
What do you think about PlayStation Vue? Will it get you to sign up for TV once more?
Or is Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, torrent downloading, Youtube and everything else, enough to satisfy your craving for passive entertainment?
Full PlayStation Vue Press Release
Sony Network Entertainment International LLC (SNEI) and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today unveiled PlayStation Vue, a pioneering new cloud-based TV service that reinvents the television experience.
“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 Inc. 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. Today’s announcement builds on the historic success of PlayStation 4 and demonstrates what our company is capable of when we embrace disruption and stay true to gamers.”
Removing Barriers between Viewers and Content
PlayStation Vue leverages the power of the cloud to combine the live, on-demand, and catch-up TV content viewers love with a powerful user interface that delivers unprecedented personalization and simplicity.
PlayStation Vue immediately connects viewers to the content they want to watch, helps them easily access their favorite shows and channels, and recommends movies and shows based on their viewing habits and what’s trending.
Discovering content is both simple and powerful with PlayStation Vue. The smart “Search” feature narrows down results quickly and intuitively, and the powerful “Explore” function allows viewers to filter the entire catalog of live and on-demand content by type of program, genre, ratings, popularity, length and more.
PlayStation Vue delivers catch-up and on-demand TV, freeing viewers to watch TV on their own schedules. The service makes the past three days of popular programming available without the need to schedule recordings.
Viewers can save their favorite shows to the cloud without storage restrictions or scheduling conflicts. Once viewers tag a favorite show, they will automatically have access to episodes of that show for 28 days so that they can watch on their own time.
PlayStation Vue is simple to navigate and intuitive to use. By leveraging the power of the PlayStation platform and controller, viewers are always one click away from quick access to watching, finding, and discovering content.
The Best Content on TV
During the invite-only beta, PlayStation Vue will initially offer around 75 channels per market from the following major programmers, including local broadcast stations, so that viewers can enjoy their favorite movies, TV shows, and sports programs.
The following is a list of our current network partners, with additional partners to be announced in the future:
CBS – At launch, PlayStation Vue will offer the live linear signal from CBS Television Network’s owned-and-operated TV stations in select leading markets in addition to on-demand prime-time programming.
Discovery Communications – Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Discovery Family Channel and 11 more brands.
Fox – Fox Networks Group’s portfolio of national entertainment programming services, including – FX, FXX, FXM, National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD. Additionally FOX Sports’ national and regional programming services – FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, BTN, Fox’s regional sports networks, including YES Network and Prime Ticket. The agreement also covers Fox’s owned and operated television stations.
NBCUniversal – All local offerings from NBC, Telemundo and regional sports networks as well as Bravo, CNBC, E!, NBCSN, Oxygen, Sprout, Syfy, USA Network and more.
Scripps Networks Interactive – HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network and Cooking Channel.
Viacom – BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, PALLADIA, Spike, VH1 and more.
Transparent Pricing with No Commitments
Pricing and packaging details will be revealed at commercial launch but PlayStation Vue is changing the rules for how people pay for subscription TV.
What you see is what you pay – fair and competitive price that is transparent with no hidden fees or charges.
No contracts – maximum flexibility as PlayStation Vue will be offered on a month-to-month basis without any penalty or customer service hassles for cancellation.
No equipment or installation charges – with broadband internet service and a PlayStation 4 system or PlayStation 3 system, there’s no need to install or rent any additional equipment.
Availability
PlayStation Vue will begin an invite only beta preview during November for select PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 owners, with a phased rollout starting in New York followed later by Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. The service will also become available on iPad shortly thereafter, and later on more Sony and non-Sony devices.
PlayStation Vue will launch commercially during the first quarter of 2015.