Sony’s OTT service to be priced in line with cable

Sony’s planned OTT TV service, which is expected to launch in the US before the end of the year, could be priced at a hefty US$80 a month for 100 channels, according to a report in the New York Post.

According to the Post, citing unnamed sources, the service will be priced at a level similar with mainstream pay TV from cable, with one source predicting a price of between US$60 and US$65.

A second source suggested that the subscription could be as high as US$80, well above the expectations of analysts who had assumed the Japanese consumer electronics giant would provide a low-cost offering.

Sony, which hopes to use the service launch to boost sales of its smart TVs and PlayStation games consoles in the run-up to Christmas, has already struck a deal with Viacom to carry 22 channels including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, and is also believed to have held talks with other studios.

According to the sources cited by the Post, the firm has not been able to strike deals that would allow it to offer an alternative to a big bundle of channels for a relatively high price.