Sony’s crack at building a streaming TV service to rival traditional cable and satellite companies finally has real clout as it expands this week from seven U.S. cities to a nationwide launch in more than 200 markets.
PlayStation Vue features three tiers of channels for existing markets: Access, which includes 55+ channels for $30; Core, which includes 70+ channels for $35; and Elite, which includes 100+ channels for $45. Newly added Vue markets can get the same packages but without live feeds of local channels for $10 less each — these “Slim” versions of the packages will still come with on-demand access to Fox, NBC and ABC programming but not CBS. The exact number of channels included in each package will vary in each region.
The rollout makes Sony the second direct cord-cutting competitor to TV giants like Comcast and DirecTV after Sling TV. Even with this expansion, Vue remains behind Sling in terms of accessibility. Vue streams can only be accessed through PlayStation game consoles, Amazon Fire TV and TV Stick, and iOS devices (which are also able to cast Vue to a TV with Chromecast). Sling TV, by contrast, is usable on those same devices except for PlayStation consoles, as well as computers, Roku devices, Android devices and Xbox One.
PlayStation Vue’s trump card could be its “Cloud DVR,” which functions, in terms of user experience, much like a set-top box DVR does.