Sony is joining Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, YouTube, and Microsoft in the internet TV business.
Powers, the first show coming to the PlayStation Network… Network, was announced a few days ago. Powers is a live-action adaptation of a graphic novel by the same name. The series is about two detectives working in a world full of supernatural beings. The show was originally set to debut on FX last year, but production stalled after a host of problems.
It isn’t clear when the show will launch, but Sony did clarify that this is to be the first of several new not-so-TV TV shows that will only be available to PlayStation users. Microsoft already announced that a Halo series and several other shows are currently in production for its exclusive entertainment network.
The move is just the latest in a content arms race that has been heating up considerably over the last year. Last February, Netflix debuted House of Cards. The show’s critical and commercial success sparked other companies to start snatching up pilots and executives from traditional TV sources. Shows that didn’t quite work out on a network, like Powers, can be given new life (and a new budget) with one of these alternative sources. Like so many media forms before it, TV could be in serious jeopardy if this trend continues. Tech companies can offer executives, writers, directors, and actors millions to make the switch over to a streaming medium.
Sony has not specifically mentioned if these production plans will raise the subscription fee for PlayStation Plus. Amazon Prime users have seen an increase in subscription costs since the service began producing original shows.
Sony’s move also takes the perceived “console war” up a notch. Microsoft and Sony will now be spending millions to compete with each other for original TV shows, as well as exclusive rights to games, streaming sites, events etc. Will Nintendo follow suit, or will it fall even further behind in the arms race?
We will have to wait and see.
(Source: Forbes)