Playstation Vue -- Sony's Cloud TV Service

[soniqstylz]

Sony just announced a new on-demand service that doesn't use traditional satellite or cable services. Instead, it's cloud-based. Sony is calling it PlayStation Vue.

 

According to Sony, PlayStation Vue is available through the PS3 and the PS4. There are no contracts and no hidden fees. However, expect more details about pricing at a later date.

 

PlayStation Vue allows viewers to save their favorite shows to the cloud and view them for up to 28 days. Viewers can also have on-demand access to the last three days of TV programming.

 

Sony is holding an invite-only beta this November, during which 75 channels will be available, including programming from the following networks: CBS, Discovery, Fox, NBC Universal, Scripps Networks Interactive, and Viacom. Sony says more network partners will be announced in the future.

 

PlayStation Vue is slated for launch during first quarter 2015. It's set to expand to non-Sony devices, including the iPad.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

http://kotaku.com/introducing-playstation-vue-how-sony-hopes-to-change-t-1658244025

[MightyJordan]

If this makes it over to the UK, I predict Vue Cinemas will kick up a fuss, just like Sky did with Microsoft SkyDrive (now known as OneDrive).

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

quick - can anyone tell me why i'd want this over Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc?

[vcfan]

If this makes it over to the UK, I predict Vue Cinemas will kick up a fuss, just like Sky did with Microsoft SkyDrive (now known as OneDrive).

 

and in Canada theres Vu!, a PPV and VOD provider owned by Bell, a cable/sat provider.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

The last thing the world needs is yet another VoD service :/

[soniqstylz]

quick - can anyone tell me why i'd want this over Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc?

 

Sports?

[+Asmodai MVC]

quick - can anyone tell me why i'd want this over Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc?

I think the idea is it's actual TV channels.  Everything you list there I believe just streams specific shows.  This is more like a cable/sat TV provider in that it has live TV channels and the programming matches other providers (cable/sat) of those channels.  I'm not saying it's better or worse, that's subjective and opinions may differ but it IS different.

 

Also from the sound of it they don't have a back catalog.  You're not going to binge watch a show from season 1-5 (unless a channel is doing a marathon or something).  Instead they cache the last three days apparently so you can watch a show that came on yesterday without having to even tell it to record it.  If 3 days isn't long enough though you can mark a show as a favorite and it will store it for 28 days.  It doesn't seem like it based on storage space, just time.  So no worries about your disc getting full but if you want to watch a show you didn't mark more than three days later or one you did mark more than 28 days later your out of luck.  Then you'll have to go to Hulu or something which is show based instead of channel based.

[Showan]

I think the idea is it's actual TV channels.  Everything you list there I believe just streams specific shows.  This is more like a cable/sat TV provider in that it has live TV channels and the programming matches other providers (cable/sat) of those channels.  I'm not saying it's better or worse, that's subjective and opinions may differ but it IS different.

 

Also from the sound of it they don't have a back catalog.  You're not going to binge watch a show from season 1-5 (unless a channel is doing a marathon or something).  Instead they cache the last three days apparently so you can watch a show that came on yesterday without having to even tell it to record it.  If 3 days isn't long enough though you can mark a show as a favorite and it will store it for 28 days.  It doesn't seem like it based on storage space, just time.  So no worries about your disc getting full but if you want to watch a show you didn't mark more than three days later or one you did mark more than 28 days later your out of luck.  Then you'll have to go to Hulu or something which is show based instead of channel based.

 

 

Thanks for the explanation.  I was going to ask the same question.

 

So it's semi live tv, semi dvr, semi-on-demand?

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

oh i see now. i didnt realize that it was live channels. i thought it was another Hulu competitor.

[+Asmodai MVC]

Thanks for the explanation.  I was going to ask the same question.

 

So it's semi live tv, semi dvr, semi-on-demand?

I think the "on demand" part is a bit confusing but I guess they say that because you can watch shows up the 3 days after they aired without having to specify to record them.  It really is an attempt to replace the cable box in your house.  Ideally over time it will get more channels until there wouldn't really be a point in having cable TV at all.  Not that it would put cable providers out of business as they'd still be needed for ISP services and of course some people would likely continue using cable boxes just like people still pay $15/month or so for AOL (which is crazy to me but there are a lot of them).

[Showan]

I think the "on demand" part is a bit confusing but I guess they say that because you can watch shows up the 3 days after they aired without having to specify to record them.  It really is an attempt to replace the cable box in your house.  Ideally over time it will get more channels until there wouldn't really be a point in having cable TV at all.  Not that it would put cable providers out of business as they'd still be needed for ISP services and of course some people would likely continue using cable boxes just like people still pay $15/month or so for AOL (which is crazy to me but there are a lot of them).

 

 

I'm sold on that motto then.  If they can net ESPN, I'm over sold...

[trooper11]

Finally, Sony rolls out their TV plans after all of the hinting way back at the first ps4 announcements. They chose to tie this service to their PlayStation gaming brand, much as MS has done for music, expanding the meaning of PlayStation in the process. I thought they might use 'Sony' instead, but I can understand this choice.

 

I've been excited to see what they ended up offering. Unlike say MS or Apple, Sony is in a unique spot when negotiating with content providers. For one thing, they already own a lot of content and that means they have a lot of leverage with traditional content providers to get them to agree to this service at a much more reasonable price then MS, etc, could get.  If the price is right and they get Disney and Turner broadcasting on board, then sign me up. I do regret that Sony isn't pursuing an a la cart option, but if the subscription pricing is much better than traditional TV service, then I'm interested.

 

MS has done a lot to offer a unique TV experience even if it requires a cable box, but Sony can really offer something nice for the ps4 thanks to not being at the mercy of a third party device. I hope they take a page out of MS' book and create a robust UI that combines the live TV and 3rd party streaming services.

 

I also like the bit about this service growing beyond the ps4. It makes me wonder if we might see something unbelievable eventually: PlayStation Vue on Xbox. I know it sounds crazy, but if Sony really want this service to be everywhere and MS is unable to offer a similar service on their own, what potential there would be. MS looked into a service like this but the content providers weren't interested. Now they have made it clear that they aren't interested in building their own TV service, so who knows.

[soniqstylz]

Dunno about on Xbox, but a Surface version wouldn't be out of the question.

[trooper11]

Dunno about on Xbox, but a Surface version wouldn't be out of the question.

Well consider this. Win 10 brings universal app support to Xbox, so if Sony has an app for Windows, then its an app for Xbox as well. Heck, even a web app would be accessible on Xbox.

[+Asmodai MVC]

I do regret that Sony isn't pursuing an a la cart option, but if the subscription pricing is much better than traditional TV service, then I'm interested.

I don't think an a la cart option would work. The content providers want to sell bundles because individually enough people aren't going to opt for some of the minor channels. If you're NBCUniversal for example you want to sell a bundle of your channels and that also means you can drop channels that aren't working or add new ones to increase the value. That's how Cable and Sat providers buy the channels and that's how Sony is doing it. If everything was per channel you'd see a lot of niche channels just die and it would be virtually impossible to launch a new channel because very few would be willing to pay for something sight unseen.

I don't know if Sony's implementation specifically is going to work but this it totally where I see TV going. That's why I didn't really see what the point of the HDMI-In was in the Xbox One... it seems like an odd legacy tech on a box that was billed heavily as "forward thinking". Three years from now for example there might be a Comcast app similar to PlayStation Vue and a VerizonTV App, etc. and boxes may be all but gone. What boxes there are will be what today we might call microconsoles or even something like Chromecast that just have the ISPs (Verizon, Comcast, etc.) TV app preinstalled. Getting the TV separate from your data on the same wire seems like it's on borrowed time for me.

As for Xbox getting it I doubt that would happen. Like soniqstylz said though I could totally see Surface getting it, especially the Pro versions because Sony will likely eventually make a Windows client for PCs and surface would just run the same client as laptops and desktops do. I'm not sure about SurfaceRT/Windows Phone though, that probably depends on them getting more market share but who knows. If they did do SurfaceRT/Widnows Phone and Xbox supports those apps like it's supposed to eventually (so called "universal" apps) then maybe it will come to Xbox but again I doubt it. I don't see Sony making a "metro" style version unless "universal" apps really take off big (which might happen with Windows 10).

[trooper11]

I don't think an a la cart option would work. The content providers want to sell bundles because individually enough people aren't going to opt for some of the minor channels.

Oh I know it won't work with the old content providers, that's one reason why its so hard for someone to come in an offer a new TV service at all. A la cart programming is the future via streaming services not bound by the old content providers.

I don't know if Sony's implementation specifically is going to work but this it totally where I see TV going. That's why I didn't really see what the point of the HDMI-In was in the Xbox One... it seems like an odd legacy tech on a box that was billed heavily as "forward thinking". Three years from now for example there might be a Comcast app similar to PlayStation Vue and a VerizonTV App, etc. and boxes may be all but gone. What boxes there are will be what today we might call microconsoles or even something like Chromecast that just have the ISPs (Verizon, Comcast, etc.) TV app preinstalled. Getting the TV separate from your data on the same wire seems like it's on borrowed time for me.

It made sense for MS to offer a legacy option because it was billed as an all around entertainment box. Since a lot of people use boxes, it was a cheap way to include those users by supporting pass through options. If MS had been successful in their talks a few years back with content providers to offer a TV service, then you would have seen MS emphasis that over a box pass through. Unfortunately, they couldn't get a deal and now don't have an alternative but streaming.

Your exactly right about apps being the future though. I expect we will see Comcast, Verizon, etc, apps come to the consoles as they did last gen and offer much more content then they did.

As for Xbox getting it I doubt that would happen. Like soniqstylz said though I could totally see Surface getting it, especially the Pro versions because Sony will likely eventually make a Windows client for PCs and surface would just run the same client as laptops and desktops do. I'm not sure about SurfaceRT/Windows Phone though, that probably depends on them getting more market share but who knows. If they did do SurfaceRT/Widnows Phone and Xbox supports those apps like it's supposed to eventually (so called "universal" apps) then maybe it will come to Xbox but again I doubt it. I don't see Sony making a "metro" style version unless "universal" apps really take off big (which might happen with Windows 10).

I was just speculating that it is possible. Heck, MS might even reach out to them at that point if Sony is successful. I would just like one service that can work everywhere.

[+Asmodai MVC]

Oh I know it won't work with the old content providers, that's one reason why its so hard for someone to come in an offer a new TV service at all. A la cart programming is the future via streaming services not bound by the old content providers.

The content providers aren't going anywhere and they aren't changing. Content providers are like Viacom. Viacom owns BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, PALLADIA, Spike, VH1 and more. Right now Comcast or Cox or Verizon or DirectTV or whoever negotiates a contract with then to be able to carry their channels on their cable or sat service. The end user doesn't deal with then directly. They sell to your TV provider, your TV provider sells to you. With this nothing is changing there. Sony is just replacing Comcast or Verizon or DirectTV or whoever. So now Sony will pay Viacom (and others) and you'll pay Sony... just like before. The difference is just that Sony is delivering the content over the internet instead of over the Sat or Cable route. Viacom will NOT sell a single channel to ANYONE. There is no a la cart option going to happen. This is because some of Viacoms less popular channels depend on people wanting the more popular ones. If you could get ONLY MTV then not enough people would buy PALLADIA or whatever so it's a package deal. Also this allows them to add entirely new channels to their bundle to see how they work out. If they flop then you got them for free and no biggie and if they do great then they'll want more money from Sony or Comcast or whoever when it comes time to renew the bundle contract. None of that is going to change. No one will pay for NewStationX if it was a la cart.

[trooper11]

The content providers aren't going anywhere and they aren't changing. Content providers are like Viacom. Viacom owns BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, PALLADIA, Spike, VH1 and more. Right now Comcast or Cox or Verizon or DirectTV or whoever negotiates a contract with then to be able to carry their channels on their cable or sat service. The end user doesn't deal with then directly. They sell to your TV provider, your TV provider sells to you. With this nothing is changing there. Sony is just replacing Comcast or Verizon or DirectTV or whoever. So now Sony will pay Viacom (and others) and you'll pay Sony... just like before. The difference is just that Sony is delivering the content over the internet instead of over the Sat or Cable route. Viacom will NOT sell a single channel to ANYONE. There is no a la cart option going to happen. This is because some of Viacoms less popular channels depend on people wanting the more popular ones. If you could get ONLY MTV then not enough people would buy PALLADIA or whatever so it's a package deal. Also this allows them to add entirely new channels to their bundle to see how they work out. If they flop then you got them for free and no biggie and if they do great then they'll want more money from Sony or Comcast or whoever when it comes time to renew the bundle contract. None of that is going to change. No one will pay for NewStationX if it was a la cart.

My point is that a la cart is the future, not the current system. The current system may survive for quite a while, but the alternatives will only get better in the mean time. There will come a time when the big content providers such as Viacom will start to embrace the new model simply because they have little choice.

HBO and Showtime are two examples of content providers that are trying a new method for delivering content outside traditional cable. Heck, even CBS is going to experiment with it.

[+Asmodai MVC]

My point is that a la cart is the future, not the current system. The current system may survive for quite a while, but the alternatives will only get better in the mean time. There will come a time when the big content providers such as Viacom will start to embrace the new model simply because they have little choice.

I understand what you're saying I just don't see any evidence of it and it doesn't seem to make sense to me. I curious as to what you think is going to cause Viacom for example to embrace a la cart when doing so will almost certainly kill their smaller channels and make it harder to introduce new ones in the future. With that in mind it doesn't even seem like a good idea for consumers. If only the most popular channels survive it will be very difficult to launch new ones and a lot of the less popular channels still have a fair amount of people that watch them, just not enough to support them by themselves. Consumers would get less options then not more so I really don't see the benefit. Instead of a la cart we have the program based streaming options like Hulu and Netflix and Amazon Prime where if you just want a few specific shows you can get those instead of subscribing to entire channels like PlayStation Vue does.

HBO and Showtime are two examples of content providers that are trying a new method for delivering content outside traditional cable. Heck, even CBS is going to experiment with it.

Those examples are different situations. HBO and Showtime aren't part of standard cable. They've always been "premium" channels that you had to pay extra to add to your plan. As such it makes sense they can sell them individually... they always have. As for CBS it's a broadcast channel. It's already available for free over the airwaves (via antenna) unlike the MTV and such. Broadcast TV since it's freely available anyway can just change from broadcasting to an antenna to broadcasting over the internet.

NBC on the other hand is both (technically NBC Universal). It owns broadcast NBC stations like CBS does but it also owns Bravo, CNBC, E!, NBCSN, Oxygen, Sprout, Syfy, USA Network and more. Now maybe they'll put the NBC broadcast channels out like CBS is doing but I can't see them allowing you to a la cart Syfy or Oxygen or any of their Viacom like "basic cable" channels.

[trooper11]

I understand what you're saying I just don't see any evidence of it and it doesn't seem to make sense to me. I curious as to what you think is going to cause Viacom for example to embrace a la cart when doing so will almost certainly kill their smaller channels and make it harder to introduce new ones in the future. With that in mind it doesn't even seem like a good idea for consumers. If only the most popular channels survive it will be very difficult to launch new ones and a lot of the less popular channels still have a fair amount of people that watch them, just not enough to support them by themselves. Consumers would get less options then not more so I really don't see the benefit. Instead of a la cart we have the program based streaming options like Hulu and Netflix and Amazon Prime where if you just want a few specific shows you can get those instead of subscribing to entire channels like PlayStation Vue does.

Well that's why I think the old way will stick around a while as a la cart options mature. While it will make it difficult to support as many channels and result in less choice on the old system, I believe consumers will find all the choice they want with a la cart options as they mature. Content creators will have to adapt. Instead of thinking about a channel, they will just think about programming. That doesn't mean shows on 'less popular' channels go away, it means that now every show stands on its own and only has to be successful in its own right, not to increase the value of a channel.

Those examples are different situations. HBO and Showtime aren't part of standard cable. They've always been "premium" channels that you had to pay extra to add to your plan. As such it makes sense they can sell them individually... they always have. As for CBS it's a broadcast channel. It's already available for free over the airwaves (via antenna) unlike the MTV and such. Broadcast TV since it's freely available anyway can just change from broadcasting to an antenna to broadcasting over the internet.

NBC on the other hand is both (technically NBC Universal). It owns broadcast NBC stations like CBS does but it also owns Bravo, CNBC, E!, NBCSN, Oxygen, Sprout, Syfy, USA Network and more. Now maybe they'll put the NBC broadcast channels out like CBS is doing but I can't see them allowing you to a la cart Syfy or Oxygen or any of their Viacom like "basic cable" channels.

Those are fair points, but it seems like the tide is slowly turning. I'm sure it will take longer for the bigger groups to experiment in this market, but seeing CBS, HBO, etc, do this is an improvement over the past. Sports is another area where big strides have been made to move away from the old way. You can get an NFL subscription without cable or satellite for example.