Sony eyes broadcast with online TV service

Sony eyes broadcast with online TV service
Sony - watch it

The fight for TV-watchers' eyeballs is just kicking off, and Sony is the latest player to be rumoured to be planning a 'net-powered TV service.

According to Variety's sources, the tech company is in "active negotiations" with at least two content companies with a view to licensing their programming.

Not a great deal more is known about this hazy internet TV service, other than that it's potentially set for a late 2013 launch in the US and the fact that Sony is staying tight-lipped on the whole subject.

Making believe

It's not the first time Sony has cropped up in rumours like these, but it's been some time since we last heard one - not surprising, given Sony's myriad financial woes over the past years.

The television industry is notoriously tight knit though, particularly in the US where even Google and Apple have hit stumbling blocks trying to get their broadcast plans in place.

But with word of Apple's iTV television set reaching fever pitch last year, it wouldn't surprise us if other tech companies are scrambling to get their televisual plans in place.

Sony made a big fuss last year about how its products can all be networked - music, images and video can be shared between its home audio systems, phones, tablets and computers, not to mention its Smart TVs and the PlayStation 3 which already offer VOD apps and more.

This television service sure sounds like a logical step for a company with fingers in the hardware, software and content creation pies but it would also prove a massive financial gamble for Sony.

With deals supposedly still being hashed out, it's unlikely that we'll hear any more about this online TV service from Sony at CES 2013 but we'll be keeping our ear to the ground regardless.

From Variety via Slashgear

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.