Sony to Shut Down PlayStation Vue

In a surprise announcement, Sony today said that it will shut down its PlayStation Vue service on January 30, 2020 because of escalating content costs.

“Unfortunately, the highly competitive Pay TV industry, with expensive content and network deals, has been slower to change than we expected,” Sony’s John Kodera writes. “Because of this, we have decided to remain focused on our core gaming business.”

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Sony launched PS Vue over four years ago, and it was one of the top choices for Internet-based TV, especially for sports fans. But like many similar services, Sony has been forced to raise prices repeatedly because content creators have charged ever-higher prices.

“We are very proud of what PlayStation Vue was able to accomplish,” Kodera says. “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.”

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Conversation 16 comments

  • Corey Ditter

    Premium Member
    29 October, 2019 - 3:03 pm

    <p>Does this mean there's a chance for Hulu Live to come to Playstation? I was researching Hulu Live recently and saw that the Playstation was just about the only major device that does not have the ability to use this service.</p>

    • Skolvikings

      29 October, 2019 - 3:19 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#484516">In reply to c_ditt1:</a></em></blockquote><p>Now you have me curious. There is a Hulu app for the PS4. You're saying that app doesn't support Live TV? I have both so now I'm going to check it out after work.</p>

      • Kevin Costello

        Premium Member
        29 October, 2019 - 3:48 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#484516">In reply to c_ditt1:</a></em></blockquote><p>Right — the app for PS3 and PS4 has never supporting Hulu Live. Very frustrating — I didn't realize that this is related to Vue but it makes sense. </p>

    • Skolvikings

      29 October, 2019 - 10:07 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#484516">In reply to c_ditt1:</a></em></blockquote><p>Wow. I just checked it out and you’re right. No Live TV on the PS4. How strange!</p>

  • Scott Ross

    29 October, 2019 - 3:10 pm

    <p>Its pretty sudden. Last night I was listening to a podcast where they mentioned the sale of Vue, but possible deals with content providers might not transfer to new owners. That is pretty much a death knell for the platform. At first I loved it but as time went on they never added anything, like features or even other channels. </p><p><br></p><p>I hopped over to Direct TV Now, because of more channels at a better price. Since the Time Warner Merger I then went to Hulu because of the better price. I need to check out You Tube TV again see if they changed anything. </p>

  • Skolvikings

    29 October, 2019 - 3:21 pm

    <p>This stinks because PS Vue was arguably the best streaming service technology wise. I used them for a couple years, but it was hard to pass on Hulu with Live TV since they had all my locals and PS Vue did not. That said, the picture in picture options on Vue for sports was phenomenal. Too bad.</p>

  • Chris_Kez

    Premium Member
    29 October, 2019 - 3:31 pm

    <p>Smart move by them to pull the plug and focus on their core business rather than getting in any deeper with little long-term upside. </p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    29 October, 2019 - 3:31 pm

    <p>The reality is that the middle man is being removed and that content owners would like to deal with customers directly. They will not be the last casualty in the transition as the industry reshape.</p>

  • jaboonday

    Premium Member
    29 October, 2019 - 3:48 pm

    <p>I think cord cutting has plateaued, and with all the content owners set to start up their own streaming services soon, this market is going to be a nightmare for service providers having to compete with owners AND work out fairly priced deals for their own services. I'm starting to see what's in store for the future — you're going to have sign up for a bajillion services in order to get all the content you want, as less of that content is going to be available in places like Vue, SlingTV, YouTube TV, etc. We just signed back up with Xfinity TV last week due to the changes AT&amp;T Now made to their streaming service – offering less channels for more money than what was available at launch. And good riddance – AT&amp;T never made a serious effort to improve their service over the year and half we used it, so I'm done hanging on to the hope that it will improve.</p>

    • evox81

      Premium Member
      29 October, 2019 - 4:12 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#484528">In reply to jaboonday:</a></em></blockquote><p>I've watched friends "cut the cord" and sign up for an increasing number of streaming services over the last 2 years, all while my Comcast bill (and content) has stayed exactly the same on a contract. We don't even watch that much TV, but for the things we do watch, it's still a better value than something like PS Vue and some combination of Netflix and/or Hulu.</p><p><br></p><p>Cutting the cord because you don't use something is one thing. But cutting the cord because it's trendy (which I'm convinced a lot of people do) is pretty much just expensive.</p>

      • jaboonday

        Premium Member
        29 October, 2019 - 5:19 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#484550">In reply to evox81:</a></em></blockquote><p>We did it because it was cheaper, and I got tired of renting those dangon cable boxes every month. But with the price increases for AT&amp;T TV Now, it's now more expensive to have that and Xfinity Internet than it would be to just give my TV watching back over to Xfinity. It's not worth putting up with increasing prices for a service that's not getting better. At least with Xfinity I know we're going to be able to get all the channels we want.</p>

      • fishnet37222

        Premium Member
        29 October, 2019 - 5:51 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#484550">In reply to evox81:</a></em></blockquote><p>I don't have a TV set, so streaming is the only way I can watch stuff. </p>

  • Jeffsters

    29 October, 2019 - 7:16 pm

    <p>There are others to follow. </p>

  • TallGuySE

    Premium Member
    29 October, 2019 - 9:08 pm

    <p>This is disappointing. I use the VUE AndroidTV app on a Sony TV, and it worked really well. Very responsive, and the controls mapped to the Sony remote making it very easy to use. Wasn't great when they dropped Viacom channels, though several streaming services don't have them either.</p><p><br></p><p>I agree with other comments that these services will probably fade away and we will have to buy each channel separately. I don't mind paying for Hulu without commercials, but CBS for almost the same price seems insane. I'm watching less TV now, which is probably a good thing.</p>

  • datameister

    29 October, 2019 - 10:12 pm

    <p>Well that is disappointing. We just switched to them a couple months ago when Dish/Sling dropped the Fox Sports regional network channels. I think PS Vue was the only one that had all the local channels, the NFL Network, those Fox channels, and the Hallmark Channel.</p><p><br></p><p>Youtube TV was a close second, just missing the NFL Network and Hallmark Channel. Hulu was missing some local channels and Hallmark.</p>

  • justme

    Premium Member
    30 October, 2019 - 4:07 am

    <p>Is it me, or does this seem like a very sudden decision? Apart from the announcement, was there something going on in the background driving this?</p>

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