PlayStation Vue is Shutting Down

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Dennis Restauro

President at Grounded Reason LLC

Dennis is the editor in chief at Grounded Reason. Before writing about using technology to save you money he spent 20 years working in the tech sector as a sysadmin, an analyst, and an enterprise architect.

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Sony interactive announced they are shutting down PlayStation Vue on January 30th, 2020. The reasoning given in a press release was:

Today we are announcing that we will shut down the PlayStation Vue service on January 30, 2020. Unfortunately, the highly competitive Pay TV industry, with expensive content and network deals, has been slower to change than we expected. Because of this, we have decided to remain focused on our core gaming business.

If you are looking for an alternative to PlayStation Vue, I recommend checking out our comparison of live streaming services. We will leave our review of Playstation Vue for informational purposes.

PlayStation Vue Review

Sony’s PlayStation Vue was launched in March 2015  as a service that would allow subscribers to stream many cable networks over the internet without requiring a cable TV subscription.

Many assume you need a PlayStation game system to use PlayStation Vue, but that isn’t the case. PS Vue works with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and many other top streaming devices.

PlayStation Vue allows you to watch a number of top tiers cable channels and broadcast networks live online without a cable TV subscription.

PlayStation Vue Channels

PS Vue offers many top pay-TV channels along with local broadcast channels in quite a few markets. In markets without live broadcast feeds for ABC, CBS, FOX, and/or NBC, PS Vue makes On-Demand available for the top programming on those networks.  Below is a summary of their more affordable channel packages and what is available on them.

Access  Bundle:  $49.99 per month will provide you with ABC On Demand, Fox On Demand, NBC On-Demand, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CNBC, CNN, Decades, Destination America, Discovery, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN2, Food Network, Fox Business, Fox News, Freeform, FS1, FS2, FX, FXX, HGTV, HLN, ID, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBCSN, Own, Oxygen, Pop, Science, Syfy, TBS, Telemundo, TLC, TNT, Travel, TruTV, USA, and WE.

Core Slim Bundle:  $54.99 per month will give you everything in “Access Slim” plus beIN Sports, BTN (Big 10 Network), CSN, CSN Plus, ESPN News, ESPN U, Golf Channel, SEC Network, Sundance TV, and NFL Network.

There is also an Elite Slim bundle priced at $64.99 a month that offers over 100 channels, but I think that’s getting a little too far outside the spirit cord-cutting. I won’t even get into the Ultra package at $84.99.

You can also purchase a sports add-on package for an additional $10 per month. This includes channels like Fox and NBC regional sports, NFL RedZone and more. There are also standalone channels available like Showtime,  Fox Soccer Plus, Machinima, and Epix Hits.

PlayStation Vue Live Local Networks

The table below shows which local broadcast channels are carried by PlayStation Vue in each local TV market (DMA.)

PlayStation Vue Features

Below is a list of features available when subscribing to PlayStation Vue

• Supports Most Streaming Devices
• Cloud DVR
• On-Demand Programming
• Watch 5 Streams at Once
• Supports a number of TV Anywhere Apps

I go into detail on many of these features throughout the rest of the article.

PlayStation Vue Devices

Many assume watching PS Vue requires a PlayStation. This is not the case. PlayStation Vue is supported by the following devices:

• Roku
• Amazon Fire TV
• PlayStation consoles (PS 3 and higher)
• Google Chromecast (1st gen and up)
• Nvidia Shield
• Apple TV® (4^th gen running tvOS 10.0 and up)
• Android TV (Android OS 4.4 and up)
• iOS devices (iPad Mini 1st Gen or later, iPad 2 or later running iOS 8.0, iPhone 5 or later, iPod Touch 4th Gen or later)
• Android (Android phones and tablets running Android OS version 4.4 or higher)
• Amazon Fire HD6 tablets and above

You can also watch on the web at psvue.com/watch (most recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Microsoft Edge, as well as previous “ever-green” versions. PlayStation Vue on the web requires Flash Player.)

PlayStation Vue Cloud DVR and On-Demand

PS Vue is a service designed to replace cable TV. The service delivers various channels live and on demand. It even lets you record shows in a “Cloud DVR” and view shows on multiple TVs around the house from one account. With packages starting at $49.99, it’s an easy way to cut cable TV.

Programs recorded to DVR can be watched both in and out of your home network. Outside your home network, you can also view your “My Shows library” and add programs to My Shows. Any “On Demand” show added to your My Shows library will additionally be available for out-of-home viewing. Other features and functionality may vary by device.

Keep in mind that some programming may not be available on-demand due to licensing rights. This is also true when it comes to using the DVR. Some content providers do not allow their content to be recorded over streaming services. However, the vast majority of channels and programs allow you to record programs to the Cloud DVR.

PlayStation Vue TV Anywhere

There are numerous individual channel apps that require a pay-TV login in order for you to use them. These are referred to as “TV Anywhere” apps. PlayStation Vue supports the following TV Anywhere Apps:

• Adult Swim
• ABC
• AMC (AMC Something More)
• American Heroes Channel (AHC GO)
• Animal Planet (Animal Planet GO)
• BBC America
• Bravo (Bravo Now)
• Big Ten Network (BTN2GO)
• Cartoon Network App
• Cine Sony
• CNBC (CNBC.com)
• CNN
• Cooking Channel  (Watch Cooking Channel)
• Destination America (Destination America GO)
• Discovery (Discovery GO)
• Discovery Life (Discovery Life GO)
• Disney Channel
• Disney Junior
• Disney XD
• DIY (Watch DIY)
• E! (E! Now)
• WatchESPN (includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNews, ESPNU, SEC Network, SEC Network +, ESPN Bases Loaded, and ESPN Goal Line)
• Food Network (Watch Food Network)
• FOX (FOX NOW)
• FOX Business
• Fox News
• FOX Sports (FOX Sports GO; includes FS1, FS2, FOX College Sports, FOX Sports Deportes, FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Sports Arizona, FOX Sports Detroit, FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports North, FOX Sports Prime Ticket, FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Southeast, FOX Sports Southwest, FOX Sports Southwest Plus, FOX Sports West, Sun Sports, and Yes Network)
• Freeform
• FUSION (FUSION TV)
• FX Now (includes FX, FXX, FXM)
• Golf Channel (Golf Live Extra)
• Hallmark (Hallmark Channel Everywhere)
• HBO (HBO NOW)
• HLN (via the CNN app)
• HGTV (Watch HGTV)
• IFC (IFC Always Slightly Off)
• Investigation Discovery (Investigation Discovery GO)
• MLB Network (MLB.com)
• MLB Network Strike Zone (MLB.com)
• MSNBC
• Nat Geo TV
• NBC
• NBC News
• NBC Sports Regional Networks (NBC Sports)
• UNIVERSO (UNIVERSO NOW)
• NCAA March Madness Live (includes CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV)
• NFL Network (Watch NFL Network and NFL Mobile)
• NFL RedZone (Watch NFL Network and NFL Mobile)
• OWN (Watch OWN)
• Oxygen (Oxygen Now)
• Science Channel (Science Channel GO)
• SHOWTIME (SHOWTIME ANYTIME)
• Sony Movie Channel
• Universal Kids
• Sundance (Sundance TV)
• Syfy (SyFy Now)
• TBS (WATCH TBS)
• Telemundo (Telemundo Now)
• TLC (TLC GO)
• TNT (WATCH TNT)
• Travel Channel (Watch Travel Channel)
• truTV (Watch truTV)
• Turner Classic Movies (Watch Turner Classic Movies)
• USA Network (USA NOW)
• Velocity (Velocity GO
• WE (WE tv)

Signing Up for PlayStation Vue

You can check if service is available in your area on the PlayStation Vue website. If it is and you want to take advantage of the content PS Vue has to offer, you will need a supported device. Obviously, you don’t need to worry about this if you have a PlayStation 3 or 4. Otherwise, I recommend getting a Roku or Amazon Fire TV and using the PS Vue App.

All that is left is signing up for PlayStation Vue and picking the bundle you want.

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