Want to shape the future of PlayStation Vue? Try canceling your subscription

By Kris Wouk Published April 28, 2016

playstation vue adds multi view on ps4 timeline — PlayStation

Last month, Sony’s PlayStation Vue Internet TV streaming service finally became available nationwide — something cord-cutters located outside of a handful of major metropolitan areas had been anxiously awaiting since the service’s introduction last year. While the service is now available to all, it’s still got a long way to go, and now it seems we might have an idea as to where it is headed next.

PlayStation Vue customers trying to cancel their subscription are presented with a survey asking what might change their mind, and this survey was recently shared on Reddit, and spotted by Exstreamist. Some of the options are commonly seen on exit surveys, but others could point to planned additions to the service.

Recommended Videos

First, customers are asked if lowering the subscription price by $5, $10, or $15 dollars would be enough to change their mind. The service currently starts at either $30 or $40 per month, depending on whether or not the customer is located in an area where local channels are offered. The lower-priced Core Slim package was introduced last month when the service expanded nationwide.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The more interesting questions come in the form of whether additional channels would be enough to woo customers. League sports networks like the NFL Network, local sports networks like MSG, and Spanish-language networks are listed as options, while A&E, History Channel, Lifetime, and FYI are presented together as a single option.

Interestingly, ABC is also an option, but ABC, ESPN, Disney and more were added to the channel lineup shortly ahead of the nationwide launch. This is no guarantee, but it could point to Sony already being in talks to add the other programming options listed in the survey.

One factor that the survey doesn’t address could be one of the most important, at least according to several Reddit commenters: availability. PlayStation Vue is available on PS4 and PS3 consoles, Amazon Fire TV devices, ChromeCast, and iOS devices. This leaves out Apple TV users, but also Roku users who already have access to another similar service.

During the long period when PlayStation Vue was only available in limited cities, Sling TV offered fewer channels, but at least was able to offer them everywhere, and on more devices, including the Roku. The contractual deals required to offer so many channels on PlayStation Vue may have hamstrung Sony, but if device compatibility remains limited, the service could have a hard time increasing its user base.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Entertainment

Gran Turismo’s ending, explained

Archie Madekwe as Jann Mardenborough in Gran Turismo.

Sony Pictures has been promoting Gran Turismo with the promise that it is "based on a true story." One of the trailers even goes on to say "This really happened." But the thing that everyone needs to remember is that there is no truth in Hollywood. All of the so-called "true stories" are embellished for dramatic effect. The only question is this: How far can the truth be bent before it's no longer true at all?

The core of Gran Turismo's story is real. Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) is a professional racer who was discovered because of the skills that he learned while playing the Gran Turismo video games. However, the film presents Mardenborough as the first-ever winner of GT Academy when the competition was actually established years earlier. The movie's climatic race is also rooted in reality, as is the finish. But there has been some controversy about the way that director Neill Blomkamp and screenwriters Jason Hall and Zach Baylin have reordered the events of Mardenborough's life. And this may prove to be among the most divisive aspects of Gran Turismo.

Entertainment

Does Gran Turismo have a post-credits scene?

The cast of Gran Turismo in an official poster for the film.

This week, moviegoers in select locations around the country have the opportunity to strap in for a video game movie that doubles as a sports bio pic: Gran Turismo. After eight years away from the big screen, District 9 director Neill Blomkamp made his cinematic return with the story of professional racer, Jann Mardenborough, a man who owes his career to the skills that he gained from playing the Gran Turismo video games. It wasn't an instantaneous journey for Mardenborough, and the film dramatizes the journey that he embarked on in order to take the wheel on some of the most prestigious race tracks in the world.

Archie Madekwe stars in the film as Jann Mardenborough, with Stranger Things' David Harbour as Jack Salter, Orlando Bloom as Danny Moore, Darren Barnet as Matty Davis, Djimon Hounsou as Steve Mardenborough, Geri Halliwell as Lesley Mardenborough, Takehiro Hira as Kazunori Yamauchi, Josha Stradowski as Nicholas Capa, Daniel Puig as Cai Mardenborough, Maeve Courtier-Lilley as Audrey, Richard Cambridge as Felix, and Emelia Hartford as Leah Vega.

Audio / Video

Disney+ relaunches on PlayStation 5 with 4K and HDR

Playstation 5 system and DualSense controller.

One of the hottest streaming services is ... once again ... available on one of the hottest gaming consoles. That is, Disney+ can still be streamed on PlayStation 5 as part of a "relaunch," Disney said today. (The same, too, goes for Star+ in Latin America.)

And, well, that's pretty much it. You'll still be able to watch all the Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Nat Geo, and more on your PlayStation 5, in 4K, and in high dynamic range, which is the actual big deal here The relaunch comes ahead of the addition of a new tier of Disney+ that will have some advertising but come at a lower cost.