PlayStation Vue was a great idea, but it could never compete with big streaming platforms. PlayStation still offers access to movies and TV shows on the PlayStation Store, and this part of the service is still very successful.
PlayStation Vue wasn’t profitable enough for Sony, and that’s why the service got shut down on January 30th, 2020. We can only speculate if PlayStation Vue will come back, but most likely it will not.
Stick around for details and the best alternatives.
PlayStation Vue Shutdown
To understand why PS Vue most likely won’t come back, we have to explain why it got discontinued. Sony was very bold when it launched the PlayStation Vue in 2015. The service was ahead of its time, incredibly innovative and refreshing.
Unfortunately, it didn’t catch on as well as Sony expected. Its popularity couldn’t compare to its biggest streaming rivals, such as Netflix, Sling TV, Hulu, and others. Sony stated that the streaming industry is too competitive right now.
Most major networks have streaming platforms of their own, and the content is often overpriced. Sony even started creating original content for Vue, but they dropped it soon enough.
Sony has many prosperous assets, including PS Plus and PS Now. They said that their primary focus was always gaming and that they want to keep it that way. At first, Sony tried to sell PlayStation Vue, but they didn’t manage to do it.
Failed Negotiations with FuboTV
Sony didn’t just ditch PlayStation Vue out of the blue. The company was struggling to make a profit with it, with only around 500,000 subscribers in its final days. Compared to other streaming platforms, those numbers are slim.
Earlier in 2019, Sony tried to find a buyer for Vue. There weren’t that many interested parties, but there was one serious potential buyer. FuboTV, a relatively small streaming company, was interested in acquiring Vue.
FuboTV currently has circa 300,000 active subscriptions, and acquiring Vue would significantly boost its numbers. Unfortunately, Sony and FuboTV didn’t manage to strike a deal because of copyright laws and PlayStation Vue’s existing network deals for their content.
FuboTV couldn’t get the content deals transferred to them, so they gave up on the idea. It was the closest attempt at getting Vue back on its feet. No one knows if some other company will acquire it in the future. It is possible, but nothing is confirmed yet.
Best Alternatives to PS Vue
Some cord-cutters out there were probably disappointed to see PlayStation Vue go. All they can do right now is find an alternative streaming platform. Luckily, there are many great platforms in 2020. Here are some of the best ones:
- YouTube TV is Google’s streaming platform. It offers quality live TV content, with a great selection of sports, news, and local channels (including Fox, ABC, ESPN, AMC, CBS, and many others). YouTube TV has a great app and supports multiple watching profiles. Subscribers can stream on three devices simultaneously.
- Hulu is a trendy streaming choice. It is more than affordable, and recently, it partnered with Disney and ESPN to offer an incredible bundle deal. Hulu Live TV offers a top choice in streaming entertainment, news, and sports channels.
- DIRECTV is a new streaming service provided by AT&T. It offers premium live TV content, 4KHDR for live sports, and the base subscription even includes free HBO for a year. Their channel choice is vast, and the pricing is reasonable.
Uncertain Future
PlayStation Vue might return in the future, but nothing is guaranteed. For now, Sony is focusing on gaming. PlayStation 5 is supposed to hit the market by the end of 2020, and it will surely bring many innovations.
Perhaps, a new version of Vue will return with it, but we have to wait and see. What do you think? Would you like to see Vue back, and what you think should be improved? Give us your two cents in the comments section below.
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