Sony PS3 to get ITV and Channel 4 catch-up TV
Sony will shortly add ITV Player and 4oD to the PS3's catch-up TV capabilities, joining BBC iPlayer.
The first commercial TV content is expected to be made available on the PS3 later this week, adding to the BBC service which launched on Sony's console last year.
For ITV the deal marks a shift in strategy: previously the commercial broadcaster had been reluctant to offer ITV shows online via other companies' products and services.
It rejected deals with YouTube and Hulu, the US on-demand service looking to launch in the UK. To date, ITV Player has only been available on Virgin Media and BT Vision, but will soon join Freesat.
ITV chief executive Adam Crozier has now identified digital strategy as a crucial part of its recovery plan.
Robin Pembroke, managing director of ITV.com, says the PS3 deal marks "an acceleration of our distribution strategy". He also expects to see shows such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale becoming available on internet-enabled TV sets, tablet computers and gaming consoles.
Sony estimates that there are about four million PS3 consoles in the UK, and about 80 per cent of those are connected to a broadband network.
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Comments
Just checked these out - iTVs 1 to 4 and 4OD.
Wall to wall Emmadale and Coronation Street and stuff like that. All stuff I've been avoiding since the 1960s. The tech may be ultra modern but the content is the same as forty years ago. Literally.
Apart from iPlayer which works well and has plenty of variety in the content including numerous Radio station, the ITV content is dire. 4OD is a little better but not yet anywhere near as good as iPlayer plus it makes you sit through Ads at the start.
As for not having these channels in the US, I say don't worry - you are missing absolutely nothing. Apart from the odd sojourn into BBC iPlayer, my PS3 is staying firmly in the gaming realm.
I'll second those comments - does this mean we'll soon get ITV Player and 4OD on our internet equipped Sony Blu-Ray players and TVs?
Great - all Sony have to do now is add MKV support and the PS3 will have it all! C'mon Sony, sort your act out. When all's said and done, the BDP-S370 plays MKVs and it is less than half the price of a PS3.
Great, but once again what about every PS3 owner not in USA, UK, and Japan? Do they just not care about us at all. The Netherlands still only has 1 internet streaming service on the PS3, and that is a shortened regional news broadcast...exciting. What about the rest of us Mr Kingdon?
hurrah. good times.
wonder if it will make the port to Sony TV's & bdp's
I'd sometimes like to have CH4, 4OD (or whatever it is) on my Sony BDP-S370 too.
They do some good documentaries (like last year's "Engineering Britain's Superweapons").