Sony launching pay TV service - Report

August 15, 2013 12:44PM PDT

By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Company reportedly reaches preliminary agreement with Viacom to carry channels like MTV and Comedy Central through PlayStation consoles and Bravia TVs as early as this year.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Sony has reached a preliminary agreement with mass media giant Viacom to license its channels for an Internet-based TV service.

 

According to a person familiar with the matter, Sony's service will allow users to stream cable channels and view on-demand content through the Internet.

No subscription price was mentioned.

Sony is aiming to launch the service by the end of the year through PlayStation consoles (presumably PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4) and its line of Bravia HDTVs, one source said.

Support for other Sony devices, like tablets and smartphones, is also in the works, the source said. The system can reportedly recommend shows for users based on what they watched previously, a feature in place already on many major services like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, among others.

Viacom owns major networks including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and Spike. Sony and Viacom declined to comment on the report.

The report further claims that Sony has held discussions with other major programming companies like the Walt Disney Company, Time Warner, and GameSpot parent company CBS Corp.

A pay TV service from Sony was first outed in January, when Hollywood news site Variety heard from sources that the Japanese technology giant was in "active negotiations" with at least two major content companies to license their programming.

Competitor Microsoft is pushing TV support for its next-generation console the Xbox One. The platform aims to simplify the living room entertainment experience by allowing users to patch their cable signal in directly through the system, removing the need for extra remotes.

Microsoft is also working with Steven Spielberg on an all-new Halo TVshow and has signed a deal with the NFL worth an estimated $400 million.

Interesting. I like the idea of more competition in the TV viewing space.

Kind of shocked it took them so long.  X360 has been adding channels for years now.  Maybe in 10 years Sony/MSFT will have all channels on consoles replacing cable boxes.

Sony pictures, Comedy Central, and Viacom is a nice combo but I'll be sticking with the games.

This sounds like its more than just a few independent channels.

As an example Google offers a full TV service (same as cable/sat) if you are in their Google Fiber areas and there are tons of rumors that they'll launch that service US wide soon, well before Fiber is everywhere.

So with this plus the fact that Sony has TVs, phones, etc that could all stream the content. Its very likely they may just be putting out a larger subscription service to actaully replace cable/sat. Whereas MS has less inclination to do that as Xbox is really their only hardware avenue with potentially a very sizeable ROI.

I think you're under the impression that Viacom is as big as Comcast etc  Comcast actually has Viacom channels.

So the ps4 might as well be the true all in one box then. From the looks of this if Sony can pull it off they can let u cut the cord and leave the ps4 to be the only box u need without the hassle of dedicated cable box unlike m$' solution. And if nbc or other local channels don't want to cooperate Sony can just team with aereo on those channels :D Sony also has saying power since they produce major popular shows like breaking bad, community, wheel of fortune etc...

Already posted 20 minutes ago LOL: http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=166299

How does this site work :)

This is pretty cool and interesting. TV is such a ripoff but if you are into sports and HD you have to pay it. If I wasn't addicted to sports I would just use Netflix. It is almost all in HD and they even have 3D content.

Locking on Rol's orders.

That, and it's a dupe thread. :3