Until very recently the realms of Internet and cable television — at least legally speaking — have been completely separate. Innovations like Hulu, Netflix and HBOGO have made huge strides in bringing the two closer together, but still, there is plenty of red tape for them to wade through, and a lot of restrictions on what they can and cannot show.
Yesterday it was announced in the New York Times that Sony and cable company, Viacom, have struck a tentative deal to have live cable streaming through Sony’s new, unnamed Internet TV service. This deal would both revolutionize the television industry, and the gaming tech industry, as people would no longer need to pay for cable subscriptions, just internet, and would access live TV through their PlayStations, and eventually their tablets and smartphones. If the deal is struck, Sony would pave the way for this new frontier of television viewing, which would inevitably prompt it’s competitors to follow suit.
Viacom, which houses big channels such as Comedy Central, has a rocky past with cable providers such as Time Warner, and DirecTV, making it a perfect test subject for this new internet TV venture.
With the implementation of this new system, who knows what the long term effects on traditional cable television services will be. Former media agency executive, Tim Hanlon had this to say: “I don’t think the classic pay TV subscription bundle model of television is going away anytime soon — it’s a pretty compelling and cost-efficient smorgasbord. “But all bets are off with the under-40 set — the growing group of folks who just want their video content when and where they want it, preferably without the messy commitment part.”
How do you feel about Sony’s game-changing move?
Via: NY Times.