Sony’s
streaming TV service is expanding nationwide Monday, giving TV lovers
throughout the U.S. a new, potentially cheaper way to get cable channels
such as AMC and ESPN.
PlayStation
Vue, which had been limited to major cities during its first year, will
start at $30 a month in the new regions. That’s $10 cheaper than
current packages, but it won’t include over-the-air channels, such as
stations for ABC and Fox. Vue’s seven older markets — big cities
including New York City and San Francisco — won’t have access to the
new, cheaper deal.
More
people are bypassing traditional TV services in light of extensive
online offerings from the likes of Netflix and HBO Now. To reach them,
cable and satellite TV companies are launching Internet-based TV
services. Dish debuted its $20-a-month Sling TV service last year.
Comcast and other cable companies have also experimented with online TV
packages, though none are offered beyond a few markets. AT&T’s
DirecTV service plans a nationwide streaming offering, but details on
prices and channels haven’t been released. Published reports have also
said that Apple is trying to develop its own streaming-TV service.
Vue’s
cheaper offering, made available in more markets than before, could
make Vue a more significant challenger to traditional TV services from
cable and satellite.
“But
nobody really knows how big the opportunity will be,” said Craig
Moffett, a MoffettNathanson analyst who follows the cable industry.
Moffett
said viewers typically like the idea of slimmer, cheaper TV packages
when they don’t have time to watch 500-plus channels, but “everyone’s
ideal skinny bundle is a little different.” As a result, he said, these
slimmer packages still end up too expensive for many people, or are
missing someone’s favorite channel or two.
A PlayStation or an Amazon Fire TV device is needed to sign up for Vue.
Vue’s
exclusion of over-the-air channels in the new regions reflects how
television networks distribute their programs in the U.S. Networks own
stations only in major cities, and their programs are carried elsewhere
in the country by affiliate stations owned by other companies. Because
of that, Sony doesn’t automatically have rights to include those
stations and has limited the Vue service to major markets with
network-owned channels. Traditional cable companies have had time to
negotiate deals with affiliates elsewhere.
Sony
will now try to bypass that limitation by offering just the cable
channels live — more than 50 in the starting package. Programs from ABC,
Fox, NBC and Telemundo will be available the following day, similar to
the way Hulu works. CBS shows are coming to some markets only at an
unspecified date. The CW isn’t currently offered in any of Vue’s
packages. Vue customers would still be able to get local stations with
an antenna.
Sling
TV also lacks over-the-air channels in its starting package of 23
channels. But it doesn’t include next-day access to network shows,
either.
TV
packages for Vue’s existing markets won’t change. They start at $40 and
include the local stations. The broadcast-free, $30 option will be
limited to markets outside the initial seven — Chicago, Dallas, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco, as well
as their suburbs. Sony hasn’t revealed how many subscribers it has, but
Moffett believes it is still tiny, given the service’s limited reach
until now.
Moffett has estimated that Sling TV has about half a million customers.
