In a surprise launch, Google has announced through a tweet that YouTube TV, the company"s streaming service that includes live TV channels, is now available on the PlayStation 4. The service offers over 70 channels from multiple networks, starting at $49.99.
The service"s availability has been expanding, with it launching on Amazon"s Fire TV devices last year. But this is particularly good news for PlayStation 4 owners, because they soon won"t have any other live TV offerings on the platform. Up until now, Sony has held something of a monopoly on live TV streaming on the console with PlayStation Vue.
However, last year, Sony announced that it was shutting down PlayStation Vue, its live TV streaming service, on January 30, 2020. The company was actually one of the earlier players in this segment, launching all the way back in 2014, but as competition has risen significantly, specifically with offerings such as YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, the company decided to focus on its gaming experiences.
With the end of its own Vue service, it looks like Sony is opening up to competition in this segment, and it"s likely that others will follow YouTube TV. Hulu, for example, already has an app for the PlayStation 4 - it just doesn"t support live TV channels yet. For now, though, you can download the YouTube TV app here.