Sony’s PlayStation Vue live TV streaming service has now officially closed. This will come as no surprise to anyone considering the company announced the intention to shut down the service months ago.
In spite of the closure, PlayStation Vue was an important part of the live TV streaming landscape. The service closed just shy of its fifth anniversary, and five years in the live TV streaming marker is a long time. As of today, it is one of the longest times as PlayStation Vue was one of the first proper live TV streaming services to launch in the U.S., following Sling TV.
At launch, the service offered access to live TV with plans starting from as little as $40 per month. In spite of the market seeing various price increases over the years, PlayStation overall remained a highly competitively priced service. By the time it closed, the cheapest plan on offer was $50 per month. The entry-level plan only increasing by $10 over five years is testament to how competitive PlayStation Vue remained right up until the end. Arguably, that may have also been the service’s ultimate downfall.
Although the market was quite simple when PlayStation Vue launched, a lot has changed in the last few years. Not only are there now a variety of services to choose from, including free live TV services, but there’s also the issue of networks looking to bypass everyone else and deliver direct access to their most popular shows. The market has become incredibly competitive and this has also resulted in prices rising across the board.
Where do PlayStation Vue customers go now?
The short and sweet answer is YouTube TV. Anyone who wants to continue primarily accessing live TV via a PlayStation 4 currently doesn’t have any choice other than YouTube TV. This is likely to change in the future but the lack of options was certainly an orchestrated event. Barely a week before PlayStation Vue closed, YouTube TV support was added to the PlayStation 4 and that sort of timing is anything but a coincidence. While it is likely that other live TV streaming services will gain support in due course, for now, YouTube is the only direct PlayStation option.
PlayStation Vue customers who are less concerned about accessing directly from a PlayStation console have plenty of options to choose from. If not opting for YouTube TV, then Hulu + Live TV is likely to be the next comparable service based on price, features and channel selection. Otherwise, PlayStation Vue customers can take a look at AT&T TV NOW, fuboTV, Philo, Sling TV, Vidgo, and WatchTV.
While these services do vary massively in price and channel selection, now might be an ideal time to re-evaluate exactly what you need from a live TV streaming service. This is especially true for any original PlayStation Vue subscribers considering the market has changed so much over the years.
Whatever service you opt for to replace PlayStation Vue going forward, you won’t get exactly the same experience and feel. However, that’s the same for any live TV streaming service and one of the reasons the market is so rich. While many of us complain about the increasing price rises, missing channels, and occasional blackouts, the choice is there to be had.
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