Sony developing online TV service - report
Service would be available on PS4, multi-channel deal with Viacom already agreed
Sony has reached an agreement with the the U.S. media giant Viacom to provide programming for a new online TV service.
According to a report in The New York Times, Viacom will let Sony carry its stable of channels on a new online TV service for phones, tablets and game hardware. This includes popular channels like MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
The story first surfaced at The Wall Street Journal, but The New York Times has confirmed most of the important details through its own sources. Any deal with Viacom would be a breakthrough for the online TV concept, which is being developed by a number of huge companies - including Intel and Google - despite strong resistance from cable and satellite companies.
The deal with Viacom has not been finalised, but its completion will give Sony the momentum to get other programmers on-board. Indeed, Sony is in contact with a number of other companies, including the Walt Disney Company and Time Warner.
According to a media executive with knowledge of Sony's plans, the new service is expected to start selling in Q4 of this year or Q1 of 2014.
While the service is intended for a range of devices, the PlayStation 4 is likely to be a very important part of Sony's strategy. Microsoft, its main competitor in the console space, has made television a core aspect of its plans for Xbox One.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Adam Campbell on 16th August 2013 10:00pm
Agreed. Right now there are 10 people online from my XBL friends list. Seven are watching Netflix and one is watching Hula Plus. One is playing a game and the other is sitting at the dashboard. This is far from an unusual situation. Almost during anytime of the day half my active friends list is busy watching or listening to a TV/video/music App as opposed to just playing games. Thats why I understood Microsoft's big insistence on TV during their reveal, although they should have saved it for a later announcement.
Couldn't help but give a mild rebuke to those saying no-one cares about multi-media and TV though around the announcement. The idea that only the games matter on a modern console is a deeply mis-informed one. Its really the users of those very consoles that are proving otherwise.
The Microsoft announcement was definitely the wrong place and wrong time to bang on about voice activation and connecting your cable box for sure. It should have been an opportunity to introduce a bit of everything about the new system.
Edited 2 times. Last edit by Adam Campbell on 17th August 2013 12:56pm
I think the next-generation, more than any before it will not be fought along hardware lines, or even software (the 3rd party exclusive is dead at this point) but services (Netflix, XBLA etc).
Offering that kind of functionality is an exercise in reducing loss of sales; I highly doubt people care about whether their phone can use Facebook because it is taken for granted that it will. It's not a selling point. Not being able to use Facebook however? That's a strike against.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Shehzaan Abdulla on 19th August 2013 1:10pm