After a few stops and starts, it looks like Sony is getting back into streaming video.
According to Video Games Chronicle, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s global services VP Nick Maguire told Spider’s Web that his company will begin offering a streaming video package as part of its PlayStation Plus subscription service. The service will provide subscribers across PlayStation 4 and 5 devices with a small selection of movies and TV shows.
However, PlayStation Plus Video Pass will only be available in Poland for at least the next year.
“We want to see how players will benefit from such a service. What titles do they watch, what do they care about, how often do they use them,” Maguire told the publication. “At this stage, however, I cannot say whether it will be created and what the test process will look like for other markets, and what the future of PlayStation Plus Video Pass will be after the test period. We are currently focusing only on the Polish market, on Polish players and what will be their reaction to the additional benefit under the PS Plus program.”
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Sony said the addition of Video Pass won’t affect the price of PlayStation Plus.
While Sony tests the waters for streaming video in Poland, the company has focused on major licensing deals in the U.S. On Wednesday, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Disney reached a distribution deal covering Disney+ and Hulu along with Disney’s linear networks including ABC, Disney Channels, Freeform, FX and National Geographic. The deal includes theatrical releases from 2022-2026 and begins for each film following its Pay 1 TV window.
Sony’s deal with Disney follows the company’s Pay 1 TV window deal with Netflix.
While Sony cashes in a major licensing agreements with streaming giants, PlayStation is moving further away from distribution by shutting down its transactional VOD store. Starting August 31, 2021, the PlayStation Store will no longer offer movie and TV purchases and rentals. When this change takes effect, users will still be able to access movie and TV content they have purchased through PlayStation Store for on-demand playback on their PS4, PS5 and mobile devices.
The change comes after last year the company shut down PlayStation Vue, its virtual MVPD.