Why Sony wants to sell PlayStation Vue
Sony is reportedly interested in selling PlayStation Vue, one of the first internet TV video streaming services.
The company is looking for a buyer, according to The Information, and has already approached one prospect, FuboTV. A sale to the sports streaming service would include PlayStation Vue's subscriber base of about 500,000 as well as the technology underpinning the entire offering. The Information suggested PlayStation Vue has been continuously hemorrhaging money, but that isn't surprising considering those really low subscriber numbers.
In comparison, Hulu had a total US customer base exceeding 28 million subscribers in May 2019, and Netflix had 60 million paying domestic subscribers this past July, while Dish said Sling TV had 2.472 million subscribers as of July 2019. Sony has been raising PlayStation Vue's pricing in recent years, but it still supposedly can't keep up with competitors and the cost of programming.
Remember, Sony doesn’t have a large library of its own content - unlike, say, Disney. So, it uses several pricey programming contracts to fill out PlayStation Vue, and it's unknown if those contracts would transfer in a sale to FuboTV.
Keep in mind Disney+ and Apple TV+ are both launching next month, while HBO Max and NBC Universal's Peacock are coming next year, too. CBS All Access also acquired Viacom. Every single one of these companies has been spending billions to have their own original, exclusive content. Sony, on the other hand, has been slow to catch up, so now it's probably realising a sale-exit is its best option.
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