Sony to shutter PlayStation Vue live TV service in January

I expect Apple will be there soon with regard to original content for TV. At $15 million an episode, and with only ~4 original shows, good luck Tim. Wish Apple would stick to making innovative software and hardware, and leave the content, whether it be music or shows, to the experts.

Too bad. I started out on PS Vue, but eventually switched to YouTube TV. I think Sony's service was strong, but their interface was clunky and they kept jacking their prices. in the end, there just wasn't enough differentiation from the alternatives.

lmac said:

I expect Apple will be there soon with regard to original content for TV. At $15 million an episode, and with only ~4 original shows, good luck Tim. Wish Apple would stick to making innovative software and hardware, and leave the content, whether it be music or shows, to the experts.

You have to look at why companies are producing content, how they generate revenue and how they define the service as successful. For Amazon, content is literally a marketing expense for Prime. Netflix gets your monthly subscription whether you watch a 20 year old tv show or their new content. It wasn’t that long ago that an entertainment company had to have people actually go to a movie theatre and pay money for a particular film and get lots of people to do that in order to make a profit. For Netflix, no one (outside Netflix) even knows how many people watch anything. They have monthly subscriptions and their stock price. You are judging new systems by antiquated mechanisms. Spending 15 million on a show used to mean you had to generate 15 million ‘plus’ from either people attending movies or advertising on tv whose rates were set because of actual viewers. That’s not the game now. Amazon can literally spend billions for a media service that just adds value to their subscription. In the long run who will be left standing? How will they generate income? How many services can live in the market? No one knows, but obviously Sony’s Vue won’t be one. I’d guess Sony thinks there is better money in selling content in the marketplace. Plus gamers are usually playing games so platform wise it’s not ideal. Plus younger people are not buying consoles. Apple is more like Amazon. They are looking to add value to services and devices. Will it work? No one knows. But the fact is they do not need to sell tickets or measure eyeballs for it to be successful. That is the odd world of entertainment right now.

lmac said:

I expect Apple will be there soon with regard to original content for TV. At $15 million an episode, and with only ~4 original shows, good luck Tim. Wish Apple would stick to making innovative software and hardware, and leave the content, whether it be music or shows, to the experts.

They have left it to the experts. They hired two of the best in the business to lead the effort: Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg. 

From Apple’s June 2017 press release:

“Erlicht and Van Amburg have served as presidents of Sony Pictures Television since 2005. Under their leadership, the studio’s slate of original primetime series more than tripled, growing to include many of TV’s most acclaimed shows. They have extensive expertise producing television for global audiences and creating programming for a wide range of services including shows for Amazon, Hulu and Netflix. Their incredible roster of programs — which have won 36 Emmys and dozens of Golden Globes, AFI and WGA awards — have included fan favorites such as Better Call Saul, The Blacklist, Bloodline, Breaking Bad, The Crown, Damages, The Goldbergs, Justified, Preacher, Rescue Me, The Shield, Sneaky Pete and many more.”

PS Apple doesn’t have about 4 shows, it’s debuting with 8 or 9 and there are 40+ in various stages of production:

https://iphone.appleinsider.com/articles/18/07/11/here-are-all-of-the-future-tv-shows-that-apple-has-signed-deals-for

The handful of companies that control content are determined to force you into a bundle no matter what.

Disney controls ABC/ESPN/Fox & Disney Production Studios and a collection of cable channels. Add in Hulu , ESPN+ and Disney+ services.
Comcast controls NBC/MSNBC/CNBC/NBC Sports Channel/Golf Channel/USA/Bravo/Telemundo , Universal Production studio then add in Comcast Cable/ISP service.
Viacom/CBS controls CBS/Showtime/MTV/VH1/BET/Paramount Channel/Comedy Central/CBS Sports Channel/half interest in the CW Network/Paramount Studio and CBS All Access service.
AT&T controls CNN/HBO/TBS/TNT/Turner Classic Movies/Cartoon Network/Cinemax/ Warner production studio and half interest in CW network. Then add in DirecTV and AT&T as an ISP.
Liberty Media controls almost everything else.

These companies know most of us watch a handful of channels, but want up to pay for dozens of useless channels that few people watch that mostly show rerun/recycled content.

If the Anti-Trust Division was doing its job, this would not be the case.

If Sony with Columbia studios is on the outside looking in, you can predict the handful of survivors in a consolidated market.