Abstract:
Sony announced that PlayStation 5 users in the United States can watch free ad-supported television (FAST) channels starting today. The PS5's media tab will offer more than 100 live channels from Sony Pictures Television, as well as support for on-demand content.
The channel content covers movies, TV series, animation, news, sports, documentaries and other categories. Movie channels include MovieSphere, 50 Cent Action, and Sony One Horror Hits launched by Lionsgate, covering action, science fiction and horror themes. In terms of TV series, users can watch shows such as "The Lost Boys," "The Walking Dead," "Deal or No Deal", "Fear Factor" and "Ice Road Trucks."
Animation content includes works such as "Naruto", "Sailor Moon", "Hunter" and "Death Note". In addition, the platform will also provide channels for gaming, e-sports, podcasts and comedy programs. Considering that Sony owns Crunchyroll, the addition of anime content is not surprising.
Sony stated that the live TV service on PS5 will continue to update program content and gradually add new channels. The company also plans to expand the service to Canada and other regions in the future.
From a business perspective, this move makes sense for Sony. Following recent business decisions such as basically stopping the production of game discs, Sony hopes to push console users to watch FAST channels directly on PS5 instead of turning to other platforms such as Pluto, Roku or Tubi. This will not only allow users to stay more in the PlayStation ecosystem, but may also bring additional revenue to Sony. Currently, Sony is paying more and more attention to gaining more revenue from existing customers, rather than relying solely on selling PS5 consoles to new users.
However, the timing of the service's launch is not ideal, to say the least. The backlash surrounding the devaluation of game discs is unlikely to subside in the short term. Sony also recently informed European users that they would lose access to hundreds of movies purchased on the PlayStation Store due to the expiration of licensing agreements.
Of course, there are still more games in development for PlayStation, and Sony will be showcasing some of them at two State of Play events this week. But judging from its current performance, this new service is more like pushing the PS5 in the direction that the Xbox One has tried before. Microsoft had positioned the Xbox One as an all-in-one entertainment center, but this strategy ultimately failed to succeed.
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