Sony plans ‘a-la-carte’ PlayStation Vue offering

Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI) and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) have announced plans to launch an a-la-carte version of its cloud TV service PlayStation Vue. 

The new offer will be available to all PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 owners in the US, allowing them to pay to access individual channels through PlayStation Vue, rather than subscribe to a multi-channel package.

The first channels to be offered a-la-carte will be Showtime, Fox Soccer Plus, and a new premium service from Machinima. These will be available from the summer, with more channels due to follow.

Showtime will be available through PlayStation Vue in July for US$10.99 a month, or US$8.99 for PlayStation Plus members. Fox Soccer Plus will be available in August for US$14.99 per month, or US$12.99 with PlayStation Plus.

Machinima plans to debut its first premium TV channel on PlayStation Vue, broadcasting exclusive content from its in-house studio. This will be available later in the summer for US$3.99 per month or US$1.99 for PlayStation Plus members.

At the same time, Sony announced that it is launching PlayStation Vue’s multi-channel packages to the Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area, as part of its staggered US rollout of the service.

Viewers in these areas will be able to access up to 85 channels via PlayStation Vue through three existing subscription packages – Access, Core, or Elite. These are priced from US$49.99 to US$69.99 per month with no long-term commitment.

“We’re pleased to expand PlayStation Vue’s packages to two additional major TV markets, representing the first time consumers on the West Coast will have access to their favourite live and catch-up TV content, as well as cloud DVR with unlimited capacity,” said Dwayne Benefield, vice president, head of PlayStation Vue at SNEI.

“We are seeing strong engagement from PlayStation fans in the three cities where we initially launched, and the introduction of a-la-carte channels nationwide provides viewers even greater choice and flexibility.”