Sony and Viacom near deal for Internet TV service

[dlevere]

Sony reportedly is close to getting content from Viacom to be used on a live TV streaming service expected to start by the end of the year.

Aug 15 (Reuters) - Sony Corp is close to striking a deal to secure content from media company Viacom for a new Internet-based TV service, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Sony is working on a service that can stream live television over the Internet and it aims to roll it out by the end of the year, the newspaper reported, citing an anonymous source.

The Japanese company is also speaking to Time Warner, CBS and Disney about potential programming deals, the newspaper reported.

A U.S. spokesman for Sony declined to comment as did representatives from Time Warner, CBS, Disney and Viacom.

The report said the Web-based service would be available on Sony's new PlayStation console, Bravia high-definition TV's, and could later expand to other Sony products such as tablets and phones.

[Helder]

All this tech ends up costing us alot more than what we want to pay for, they should release a stripped version of the next gen consoles with everything taken out except online play with chat and DLC and the ability to play games on/offline. These new systems are becoming too much more than a gaming system and slowly veering off the path of a "Game Console".