4oD and ITV Player confirmed for Sony’s console-cum-media hub, promised this week.
After the successful launch of the Lovefilm streaming service to complement the indie-film service Mubi and the BBC’s iPlayer, Sony has now secured two more long-rumoured services to bring more video on-demand to its console in the UK.
Talking to The Guardian, Channel 4, ITV and Sony confirmed that ITV Player and 4oD–the two channels’ respective online catch-up services–are “expected” to arrive on the PlayStation 3 this week. ITV.com’s managing director said that the launch marked an “acceleration of our distribution strategy,” and that he expected to see the service move to other consoles in the future. Currently the Xbox 360 only has the Sky Player service in this vein, while the Wii offers the BBC’s iPlayer service.
Sarah Rose, Channel 4’s director of commercial and business development, said that the timing of the move was due to console markets being “much bigger now and moving into the entertainment space.” She also indicated that the company would be open to a deal with Microsoft to bring the service to the Xbox 360, but that the Redmond, Washington, firm was “not coming to our door.” She also confirmed that the service was unlikely to come to the Wii due to the fact that Nintendo’s platform can’t currently carry advertising.
While the services look set to launch this week and will be greeted with an email and on-console push to consumers, a push isn’t going to be made to the wider market until January. In the new year there will be a TV advertising campaign and sponsorship deal, according to Alan Duncan, marketing director for Playstation UK.
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