PlayStation Vue, Sony's television streaming service, will be shutting down. This news comes only a few months after Sony decided to raise the subscription price of PlayStation Vue, presumably in an attempt to recoup costs of keeping the service active.
Those that have PlayStation Vue subscriptions will be able to use the service until January 2020. Movie and TV content will still be available via the PlayStation Store, but Vue content will no longer be available after it is shut down.
PlayStation Vue is Sony's streaming service, originally launched in 2005 and was set to stand-up to competitors like Netflix and Hulu. Vue, however, is closer to a cable TV alternative than a full-on streaming service, where subscribers could sign up for broadcasting packages. The different packages would offer different channels for subscribers to watch, as well as an extensive DVR feature. Finally, Vue users could pay for Live TV for sporting events and more.
However, it seems as though PlayStation Vue did not do enough to stand out from the crowd. Sony has announced that PlayStation Vue will be shutting down on January 30, 2020. Deputy President John Kodera explained further in a PlayStation Blog post: "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."
It's unfortunate, but maybe not entirely unexpected for Vue to be shutting down. Bigger name services like Hulu offer Live TV, and On-Demand entertainment isn't something that is a big selling point anymore. On top of that, while the service was called PlayStation Vue, subscribers never needed to have a PlayStation 4 to use it - a branding mistake like that can cause potential subscribers away easily.
Sony and the PlayStation brand will be focusing more on its gaming content going forward. With the development of the PlayStation 5 in full swing and the team trying new things, it's more likely that Sony will try and improve its PlayStation Now service than focus on another streaming service for the new console.
PlayStation Vue will be available to subscribers until January 30, 2020.
Source: PlayStation Blog