Earlier in the week we covered Microsoft’s agreement with Australia’s Foxtel that will see pay TV content streamed to Xbox 360 consoles. Now Sony has announced that PS3 and PSP owners in the US will be able to access programming from cable TV network HBO on their consoles.
Using the PlayStation Network’s (PSN) video delivery service PS3 /PSP owners can now purchase shows from HBO’s lineup, including True Blood, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Flight of the Conchords, to name just a few.
To ensure it doesn’t undercut its paid subscription base shows won’t be released to the PlayStation Store immediately after they air. Instead PS3/PSP users will have to wait around 11 months after a season ends to download it. Prices for episodes will also vary between shows. Most downloadable shows will be available for US$0.99 an episode, but an episode of HBO’s hit True Blood are a little steeper at US$2.99.
Hard to see how that would prove attractive to even the most diehard fans, most of who would have no doubt seen all the episodes on offer anyway. Although someone late to the party in discovering one of the cheaper, older shows might be better off downloading individual episodes rather than shelling out for a HBO subscription.
US residents can find the HBO content in the HBO section of the PlayStation Store. There are 11 shows available now, with additional seasons and shows being added each week.
