Cord cutters should bone in love with Sony Today! The company announced details of its cloud-based TV streaming service, dubbed PlayStation Vue, which tackles cable television head-on by offering programming from 75 channels to PS3 and PS4 owners.
Sony says PlayStation Vue “reinvents the traditional viewing experience so your programming effortlessly finds you.” Using the service’s TV interface, users can watch their favorite shows live or on-demand, searching for specific shows or exploring new ones in Sony’s catalog of shows. The company already has agreements to include content from CBS, Fox, and NBCUniversal, with additional partnerships to be announced in the future.
Specific features of PlayStation Vue try to make the catch-up viewing experience a little easier. The service automatically makes the last three days of programming available without the need to schedule a recording for a specific show. Also, viewers can select their favorite shows and save them in the cloud, giving them access to recent episodes of that show for 28 days, so they can watch on them on their own time.
Sony talked about its own TV service back at CES 2014, but never released its name or full details until now. PlayStation Vue joins the likes of HBO, Hulu, Netflix and others in the race to be the top choice for cord-cutters looking to get rid of cable television all together.
Sony hasn’t announced pricing for PlayStation Vue, but the company says that it will be a no-contract service with no installation charges (we would hope not) and no hidden fees. The service will start as an invite-only beta preview for New York-based PS3 and PS4 owners at the end of the month, extending to Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles soon after.
Sony also says PlayStation Vue will eventually come to iPads, aw well.
The launch of Sony’s PlayStation Vue will be closely viewed by others in the cable and television industry. The CEOs of CBS and Time Warner have both suggested an Internet TV service could be offered in the future, while Dish Network and Verizon are preparing Their own Net TV services for early 2015. HBO has also revealed it will be offering a standalone streaming service outside of a cable bundle in the next year.
