Sony has confirmed that their television streaming service, PlayStation Vue, is set to shut down in 2020, shifting their focus to partnerships and video games.
Four years ago, PlayStation Vue entered the market, allowing fans who have access to Chromecast, a Smart TV, or even an Amazon device to enjoy their premium service, which brought the modern TV experience to live as a streaming service. They aimed to change how we enjoy TV entertainment and to even compete against major services such as DirecTV (AT&T), Dish Network, Cox, Comcast, and so forth.
As of today, Sony has revealed that starting January 30th, 2020, their service will no longer be available due to the competitive Pay TV industry. Their user interface, the usability, and the cost led to many, many users, however, Sony has stated that they decided to “remain focused on our core gaming business.”
The company has even revealed that they now have over 100 million PlayStation 4 consoles in the market, allowing for millions of more users to join the PlayStation family, while also delivering some of the strongest first-party titles to date. Those looking for alternatives can still do so as Sony has revealed that they will still have top entertainment and partnered apps on their store, which include services such as Hulu, Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime, and many more.
While it is sad to see them exit the market, Sony has struggled to compete against their competitors, survive through the ever-rising costs of the Competitive Pay TV market. You can check out the official statement from Sony down below:
Over four years ago, we made a bold decision to change the rules and revolutionize the traditional TV-viewing experience in the U.S. with PlayStation Vue. 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.
Today we are announcing that we will shut down the PlayStation Vue service on January 30, 2020. Unfortunately, the highly competitive Pay TV industry, with expensive content and network deals, has been slower to change than we expected. Because of this, we have decided to remain focused on our core gaming business.
PlayStation fans can continue to access movie and TV content through the PlayStation Store on PS4 and via our partnerships with top entertainment apps. With 100 million PlayStation 4s in the market today, our community continues to grow and thrive. We will continue to deliver the best entertainment experiences across the network, along with other key gaming services, including PlayStation Now and PlayStation Plus.
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.
We appreciate your continued support as we move through this transitional period and look toward the future.
If you just renewed your subscription, it may be time to contact Sony, cancel your membership, or begin shopping for an alternative streaming service.
About the Writer(s):
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the borders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest.