Usually getting more means paying more, but Sony deviated from the norm when it announced new pricing while adding popular channels to its Internet TV service, PlayStation Vue. In a post on the Playstation blog today, Sony shared that the service’s multi-channel packages now include programming from Disney, which means users will get a loaded suite from the Mouse, including ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, Disney Channel, and more.
At the same time, pricing for each of Sony’s three plans has been cut by $10 for both new and existing subscribers.
Sony’s most basic 60-channel plan, Access, will now be priced at $40; Core, which tops 75 channels will cost $45; and Elite, a 100-channel plan is now just $55. Those on the entry-level Access plan will gain ABC, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform (formerly ABC Family), ESPN, and ESPN 2, while Core will tack on ESPNU, ESPNews, and SEC Network. Disney’s Fusion channel will be added only to the Elite plan.
Rolling out today, ABC local stations will be added to PlayStation Vue plans in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. ABC VOD programming will come to Dallas and Miami at a later date. Sony also has plans to add ESPN3, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN Bases Loaded, Longhorn Network, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN Classic at a later date. In the meantime, users will be able to access Disney and ESPN Media Networks apps by signing in with their PSN login on compatible devices.
PlayStation’s official Twitter account shared the news Wednesday of the newly available channels and reduced prices.
Starting today: Disney, ESPN Networks join PlayStation Vue, reduced prices start at $39.99: https://t.co/8dS7gRLBWI pic.twitter.com/XfGoJN9vLd
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 2, 2016
The move is likely an effort to better compete with Vue’s biggest rival in the Internet TV space, Sling TV, which starts at just $20, and includes ESPN and ESPN2, as well as several other coveted channels like CNN, History, and more. ABC can also be added to Sling TV via one of the service’s $5 add-on bundles. Sling TV continues to grow, and AT&T plans to make DirecTV streaming more convenient with its own three-plan rollout.
The addition of Disney and ESPN Media Networks’ popular channels and lowered prices should help PlayStation Vue compete with its Internet TV rivals as cord-cutting gains more traction.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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