Sony announced on Monday that its PlayStation Vue streaming service was going national with the addition of 203 newly launched markets.
The new "Slim" packages start at $30 a month in the new areas, and will include video content from ESPN/Disney and AMC, among others. Customers in Vue's older markets, which include New York City, San Francisco and Chicago, won't be able to get the new cheaper tier.
The cloud-based TV service, which launched a year ago, includes dozens of live cable channels as well as access to a cloud DVR and next-day access to content from most of the major networks.
By serving up Vue in more major markets, Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) is offering a compelling service to cord-cutters nationwide, but it remains to be seen how it will stack up against other OTT services such as Dish Networks' Sling TV or AT&T's recently announced DirecTV streaming service. (See AT&T Intros New OTT Video Services.)
Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and other service providers are experimenting with "skinny" bundles that were designed to appeal to millenials, but those services don't have a nationwide footprint.
Sony is clearly throwing down the OTT gauntlet with today's news. (See Sony Takes OTT Service National.)
"PlayStation Vue has been an ambitious project from the start, and national expansion demonstrates our ability to innovate in an industry that's overdue for a reinvented experience," said Eric Lempel, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Head of PlayStation Network Americas, SNEI. "Thanks to the strong network relationships we've forged and technology we've built, consumers nationwide can enjoy a better way to watch TV."
On the device front, the service is accessible through PlayStation4, PlayStation3, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, as well as iPad and iPhone through the PlayStation Vue mobile app. Google Chromecast is also supported via compatible iOS devices.
— Mike Robuck, editor, Telco Transformation