Sony has added free ad-supported streaming television to the PlayStation 5, GameSpot reported on August 31. The service, called Live TV on PS5, comes from Sony Pictures Television and is available in the United States, offering movies and shows at no cost in exchange for watching advertising.
Sony said the service carries more than 100 live channels along with on-demand programming spanning news, sports, movies, television and anime. Reaching it involves opening the Media tab on the console, selecting the Live TV on PS5 icon, and choosing the option to sign in with a PlayStation account.
What is in the lineup
Movie programming includes MovieSphere, 50 Cent Action, FilmRise Free Movies, Sony One Horror Hits and Cinevault. Television shows available on the service include The Walking Dead, Community, Unsolved Mysteries and Hell's Kitchen. Anime programming covers Naruto, Sailor Moon and Death Note, along with some Crunchyroll channels.
Sports coverage comes from Fox Sports, Nascar, NBC Sports Now and UFC. The lineup also includes news and weather channels and creator programming such as Hot Ones and material from The Ringer. Sony said the service will be updated over time with more channels and content, and that it is looking to expand it to Canada and other regions later.
A crowded segment
Free ad-supported streaming television has been growing in popularity, GameSpot reported, with Roku, Tubi and Pluto among the current market leaders. Programming of that kind was already reachable on PS5 through dedicated apps for some of those services, and Microsoft offers apps including Tubi and Pluto on Xbox. What is new is that Sony is now running a channel service of its own.
GameSpot cited The Hollywood Reporter as saying Disney and Netflix are also weighing plans in the same segment. Sony previously operated a paid live television service, PlayStation Vue, which it shut down in 2020 in part because of how expensive it was to run.