In a move that directly competes with the recent addition of Sky TV shows to Xbox Live, Sony’s Playstation 3 has just been augmented with an all new Sky TV viewer and a whole host of highly popular US TV shows for TV fans across the globe.
In a deal struck between Sky and Sony, an array of hit shows from the states have been added to the UK Playstation video store. The range of programmes includes episodes of massive shows such as Arrested Development, Breaking Bad, South Park, Two and a Half Men, with many more besides now available.
However, current shows are quite sporadically available, with confusing selections such as seasons one and six of that Jack Bauer show, 24, all there to download, but sadly none of the other seasons available. The shows available are also all purchase only, with a surprising lack of rental or season pass options so far.
Individual episodes cost between £1.49 and £2.49 (about $2.30 — $3.90), and in a move mirroring the Video Unlimited movies service users should expect to pay an extra bit more for HD versions over SD. However, pricing is thankfully competitive – especially with the UK iTunes store, and shows accessible give the PS3 extended superiority over Microsoft’s UK Zune Marketplace.
Console users could expect stiff competition between Microsoft and Sony in the direct download television show market, so hopefully this marketing struggle will eventually open up more episodes to both Xbox 360 and PS3 users as each company attempts to get a more competitive edge over the other.
UK PS3 users should check out the selection in the meantime, as the selection, which includes a wide array of genres from comedy to white knuckle no-holds-barred action thrillers, is a pretty nice trove of watching for those who do not wish to get involved with British TV licensing fees. More downloadable content in the future could potentially rule out licensing fees all together, a situation that both the BBC and TV fans should be monitoring extensively.
The shows are avaliable to download on PS3 for UK customers via the Playstation Movie Store as of now.
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