PlayStation Vue streaming plan goes nationwide by cutting broadcast channels
The new “Slim” PlayStation Vue plans start at $30 per month and include more than 55 TV channels, including ESPN, AMC, FX, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and all three major cable news networks. An additional $5 per month provides more than 70 channels, including regional sports networks. The most expensive plan, at $45 per month, brings the total number of channels to more than 100.
Unlike Sony’s previous bundles, the new plans are available in more than 200 markets throughout the United States. Until now, Sony has offered PlayStation Vue only in a handful of U.S. markets and at a higher price of $40 per month and up. That’s because those bundles included live broadcasts from local stations such as NBC, CBS, Fox, and ABC. (With the Slim plans, subscribers get only on-demand shows from those networks.)
Although Sony doesn’t acknowledge this in its announcement, the limited availability with the old bundles was likely due to local broadcast affiliates, who’ve generally resisted offering live programming feeds to streaming services. (Affiliate stations have reportedly held up a long-rumored streaming service from Apple and have limited the availability of CBS’s All Access service.)
Those broadcast-inclusive plans remain available in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area, but many cord cutters will likely prefer the new Slim options. After all, it’s now $10-per-month cheaper to just pick up those broadcast channels for free with an over-the-air antenna.
PlayStation Vue is available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 consoles, of course, but also on Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, iPhone, iPad, and Chromecast (via the iOS app). Beyond just live TV, the service includes on-demand programming and a cloud-based DVR for storing and accessing shows across all devices.
Why this matters: Although PlayStation Vue recently got a price cut and added ESPN channels, it just wasn’t available to enough people to merit much attention. The new bundles are much more compelling, especially because they include a fair number of channels that you can’t get through Dish Network’s competing Sling TV service. Between these offerings and the DirecTV streaming plans AT&T is working on for later this year, anyone looking to ditch cable TV is getting a lot more options.