After almost five years of service, Sony has officially pulled the plug on PlayStation Vue on Thursday, January 30. Sony announced that it would shutter the service back in October of last year, giving users more significant notice before following through with its plan.
Alongside Sling TV, YouTube TV and Hulu, PlayStation Vue was one of just a handful of cable alternatives that provided live TV to customers without a contract or extra equipment, and was considered by man to be a pioneer in the streaming space.
The service’s closure comes after months of subscription price changes and increased competition from new on-demand streaming services, all of which were cheaper than a live TV alternative like PlayStation Vue.
As of today, the sign-up portal has been closed down and the PlayStation Vue app on mobile devices only displays the message “PlayStation Vue is no longer available. Thank you for your support.”
Vue is gone, so what’s a cord-cutter to do?
Although support for the streaming service has wavered throughout the years, the service was one of the first to give subscribers a viable alternative to cable. While its absence won’t impact a massive amount of subscribers – say, in the same way Netflix shuttering would – but its loss is still detrimental for folks who relied on it for live TV in lieu of cable.
The good news is that, for those looking to replace PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV is a great alternative and, thanks to a recent update, is now available on PS4, browsers and mobile phones – pretty much everywhere you could watch PlayStation Vue.
If you’re looking to shave a bit of money off your monthly subscription, Sling TV is a bit cheaper than PlayStation Vue was at the end of its run, but it doesn’t have as many channels and its performance, at times, can be spotty.
Of course, if you want something that’s free you can always check out Sony’s other streaming service, Crackle, which has ad-supported movies and TV shows… though they’re all a bit older and not as high-caliber as the content on Netflix.
- Not sure where to start? Here’s our guide to the best streaming services
