Sony's been quietly beta testing its television initiative PlayStation Vue for a little while now, but the platform holder intends to officially launch the programme in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia over the next two weeks. Speaking with the Wall Street Journal, the manufacturer added that it intends to roll out the application nationwide by the end of 2015.
For those out of the loop, this is the Japanese giant's stab at Internet TV. Available initially for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 – with various apps for other electronics to follow – the subscription-based service aims to combine the best of live programming and catch up in one intuitive application. It's being billed as a genuine alternative to cable or satellite.
Popular networks already onboard include CBS, FOX, NBC, Comedy Central, FX, Discovery, and many more. It will, however, be missing ESPN, but PlayStation president Andrew House doesn't consider this a problem. "We are very confident that we have a very robust offering in the sports area with existing partnerships," he beamed.
Of course, the most important factor is price, which the platform holder's yet to really talk about. Pundits predict that it'll cost anywhere from $50 to $80 per month, which isn't a million miles away from your average cable subscription. If that's the case, the company may struggle to convince people to cut their cords. What would be the right monthly fee for you?
[source wsj.com, via theverge.com, vg247.com]
Comments 11
Anything more than $20 and I am out.
For me? Thanks.
$50 - $80 w/o ESPN is insane. The only people who cut the cord are those who don't watch ESPN. I pay about $25 for about 2 dozen channels, anything more than $10 and I'm really not interested. Of course I'm still about 35 miles outside the NYC border, but if they don't launch on LI where a lot of the NYC money earners live that's another bad move. Anybody in NY w/ any money spends their summers in the Hamptons.
So no PS Vue on PS TV huh? Brilliant. Can't wait to see how they market Morpheus.
Edit - Hey Sammy, poor net etiquette to link to articles behind paywalls like the WSJ.
Honestly I wish there was an al carte option where I can pick and choose the channels I want like with a Roku. The main reason I got rid of cable is that it was costing me to much with their packages which most of the channels I would never watch. Maybe charge something like 1.99 to 4.99 a month for each channel you choose. If they did that I would be all over that.
No ESPN?! Come on Sony! Step it up! I would love an alternative to cable because I don't watch much tv. But the only channel I watch religiously is ESPN. That's such a bummer.
I still think Vue should be named TV and TV should be named something else.
@Cowboysfan-22 Apparently another service has exclusive rights to ESPN at the moment.
@get2sammyb that's disappointing. I'd love to pay $20 for a service like that and get rid of the hundreds of channels that I pay way too much for and don't use at all. Plus my PS4 would be the hub of all of my entertainment. Wait, wasn't that what another company was going for?
$50 to $80 a month? Sorry but Sony can suck it, there is no freaking way, I might as well just get Cable TV or something. bleh.
In my area I pay 78$ a month for standard, no on demand, basic cable with limited HD channels, no dvr, heck I use an HDdtu which I run into my x1 just so I have an interactive TV Guide. They offer this at 50$ a month I will sacrifice espn to save 30-35$ a month after taxes and whatnot. It's not the ala carte option a lot of us would prefer, and I think the cable companies are purposely offering different channels with different channels to make cable look more appetizing but at least something is finally happening
If its cheaper by 10$ bucks compared to what i pay now and has all the main channels i watch im in!
@get2sammyb - Seems like prices have been announced, $50, $60 or $70. Not sure where CNBC got it's info from though, sorry. The blog doesn't have prices. Everybody else seems to though, Gizmodo, Endgadget, Verge, Wired, the usual suspect.s
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2015/03/18/playstation-vue-launches-today-in-chicago-nyc-philadelphia/
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102515843
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