Sony will stream the best of cable to your iPad by 2015

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playstation-vue
Playstation Vue is bringing cable TV to the iPad. Photo: Sony

Sony announced its plans to replace your cable box today with its new Playstation Vue cloud-based TV service, that offers live access to 75 of cable’s best channels, without a monthly contract. And it’s coming to iPad too.

The invite-only TV service that’s designed to replace cable will begin to roll out in November to beta testers on the Playstation 4 and PS3, but Sony says it plans to bring Vue to ‘non-Sony devices’ like the iPad, at some point in 2015.

Apple has been rumored to be working on a similar TV service that would allow Apple TV owners to access live content from providers, but the project has reportedly been pushed back to 2015. Sony’s service is designed suck you into more TV watching by learning what you like, and offers a personalized channel of shows based on your favorites.

Sony has signed a deal with Viacom to supply Playstation Vue with 22 channels, including MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. Other channels like CBS, Discovery, NBCUniversal and Fox are also in the lineup, but ESPN, ABC, and Disney (all of which have close ties to Apple) are out.

Andrew House, President of Sony praised the new service, claiming it “reinvents the traditional viewing experience” allowing shows to “effortlessly finds you.”

“PlayStation Vue brings the best of live TV and a robust catalog of the latest content, always keeping you connected to what’s popular, new and trending. Today’s announcement builds on the historic success of PlayStation 4 and demonstrates what our company is capable of when we embrace disruption and stay true to gamers.”

The PlayStation Vue service come with a few caveats: some channels won’t be available on mobile, and episodes will only be available for 28 days after they air.

Pricing details weren’t mentioned, but Sony claims it will be “transparent” with no commitments. New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles will be the first to get PlayStation Vue later this month, with the commercial launch slated for the first quarter of 2015.

Source: Sony

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