From MTV to HBO: Playstation 3 wants to be a TV network.
22 December, 2009
This week, at iHollywood’s Digital Living Room conference a Sony US marketing manager stated that company plans to build out an area on the PlayStation with it’s own, original TV programming. Meaning that with a connected Playstation 3, you don’t need a TV subscription to see the TV shows.
MTV your PS3
Sony already released the Vidzone Music Video application for PS3 this month, offering “your own personalized version of MTV” on the Playstation 3. This free app offers unlimited access to high quality music video streams, and the ability to build custom music video playlists, turning the PS3 into an MTV type station - but one that actually shows Music Videos ;)
From MTV to HBO
The ultimate goal is to transition from a gaming company to a full-blown media company, So, the next step is to build a proper TV station to go with the Music Video offering. The first program on the PS3 will be a reality TV show that is targeted at the gamer demographic. John Koller - director of marketing PlayStation platforms at SCE America - states that the plan is to build an “actual” TV network not unlike the American premium cable station HBO.
New content
“This is an area we’re going to be building out — reality shows and other areas that would live within the PlayStation Network, and only PlayStation consumers would be able to download them,” Koller said. “We’re starting to turn the PlayStation Network into an actual network as defined by what you’d expect from an HBO perspective where new and interesting content constantly breaks through.”
Virtual advertising
In Sony’s vision a PS3 user could ultimately fire up PlayStation Home - PS3’s version of Second Life – to go to their virtual apartment and switch on their virtual Bravia set to watch Sony’s original TV programming. According to Koller, Sony Home is profitable today. PS3 users accept being charged for customization of their environment. Koller: “It’s amazing to me that someone would buy a 50 cent chair for their PlayStation Home apartment with real money, but the revenue that comes from that is significant“. Advertisers are also paying to be present in the virtual world, so in between Sony’s shows, those virtual TV’s in those virtual apartments could end up broadcasting virtual commercial breaks for real money…
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