From Rapid TV News
Will big moves from Sony, DISH change the OTT narrative?
- Details
- Michelle Clancy
Over-the-top (OTT) TV streaming has become the Next Big Thing of late, with late-2014 announcements by HBO and CBS regarding standalone services making headlines in the cable world. But OTT could be a much more disruptive force than it has been to date.
Indeed both DISH Network and Sony made it clear during CES 2015 that, unveiling packages that threaten to underpin a movement to a la carte TV.
To date, OTT has been seen as largely complementary to existing cable subscriptions, with cord-cutting occurring at low levels at best. Mostly, this is related to the fact that plum content, like sports and a wide selection of content from beloved cable nets, has been largely kept out of the OTT picture. And even outside of this reality, for a cord-cutter to create their own streaming TV portfolio that contains any sort of content diversity, the price of putting together several OTT offerings often approaches that of a traditional cable subscription—with none of the convenience of traditional pay-TV.
US satellite powerhouse DISH has thrown a bomb into all of this with the announcement of its Sling TV OTT Internet TV service, which will price at $20 per month. The package includes content from ESPN, ESPN2, Disney Channel, ABC Family, HGTV, TNT, Food Network, Travel Channel, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and short-form videos produced by Maker Studios.
Sling TV will require no commitment, contract, credit check or hardware installation. Users can sign up by the month and access content online and via Amazon Fire TV, Google's Nexus Player, some Samsung and LG smart TVs, Roku, Xbox One, and iOS and Android apps.
At launch, Sling TV will offer the core programming package and two optional add-on packs for $5 per month—making for a step closer to true à la carte TV, where consumers pay for what they actually watch. And that's a game-changer.
Sling TV expects to expand its programming add-on packs throughout 2015 but for now, the packs are for kids' content and news.
Meanwhile, in an announcement event at CES 2015, Sony president and CEO Kaz Hirai revealed more details about the PlayStation Vue service, set to debut in the first quarter of 2015. Playstation Vue will offer a wider bouquet of cable channels, plus broadcast fare from CBS, NBC and FOX. Analysts expect it to price out at $60-$80, suggesting that live sports will be a key piece of the proposition.
The service will stream only via a PlayStation 3 or 4 at first. But eventually it'll migrate to iPads and other non-Sony devices. (And perhaps some NEW device for viewing media?)
.... More at the source
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