Sony to shutter PlayStation Vue streaming service

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Sony to shutter PlayStation Vue streaming service
October 30, 2019 11.31 Europe/London By Julian Clover
Sony says it plans to close its four-year old streaming service PlayStation Vue.
The company is blaming “expensive content and network deals” that have been slower to change than expected.
If anything such deals are becoming more expensive as the market prepares for new launches from Apple, WarnerMedia and NBC, not to forget established players Netflix and Amazon Prime.
“We are very proud of what PlayStation Vue was able to accomplish,” said John Kodera, deputy president, Sony Interactive Entertainment. “We had ambitious goals for how our service could change how people watch TV, showcasing PlayStation’s ability to innovate in a brand-new category within the Pay TV industry.”
PlayStation Vue will shut on January 30, 2020 with Sony moving to focus on the core gaming service.

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Sony to shutter PlayStation Vue
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Editor
| 30 October 2019

In a very harsh and clear indication of just how competitive the TV and video arena is, and how the pay-TV arena has been hit by SVOD and the imminent arrival of direct-to-consumer offers, Sony has decided to close down its PlayStation Vue service.

Launched in 2015, the streaming offer provided a wide range of content to users in the US and notably had local feeds from all four major US broadcasters in addition to a range of on-demand service providing TV and films. It offered live and on-demand TV content from the likes of CBS, Disney, the Discovery portfolio, FOX, NBCUniversal, AMC Networks, Scripps Networks Interactive, Viacom and Turner Broadcasting. Most on-demand content was available within 24 hours after airing.

The company gave a very blunt explanation for its actions. It said that the highly competitive pay-TV industry, with expensive content and network deals, has been slower to change than expected.

“Over four years ago, we made a bold decision to change the rules and revolutionise the traditional TV-viewing experience in the US with PlayStation Vue,” said John Kodera deputy president, Sony Interactive Entertainment, commenting on the decision to close. “We set the bar high and sought to innovate an established industry by delivering a modern TV experience. By completely rethinking live and on demand television, we offered an incredible user experience that allowed viewers to discover and watch content in completely new ways.... We are very proud of what PlayStation Vue was able to accomplish. We had ambitious goals for how our service could change how people watch TV, showcasing PlayStation’s ability to innovate in a brand-new category within the pay-TV industry. We want to thank all of our customers, some of whom have been with us since PlayStation Vue’s launch in 2015.”

Going forward Sony will focus on its core gaming business and will continue to offer TV series and films through the PlayStation Store on PS4 and via partnerships with entertainment apps. The company noted that with 100 million PlayStation 4s in the market today, its community continued to “grow and thrive.”