Sony has launched a free, ad-supported live TV service on the PS5, giving console owners access to more than 100 channels without another subscription.
The service brings together news, movies, TV shows, sports and anime, with content coming from Sony Pictures Television and partners including NBC and Fox News.
The new Live TV on PS5 service is available from today in the US. To access it, head to the Media tab on the PS5 home screen and select the Live TV on PS5 icon.
There’s a fairly broad mix of content available at launch. Sony says the service includes sports, movies from MovieSphere and FilmRise Free Movies, TV shows including The Walking Dead, and anime from Crunchyroll. It will also feature gaming and esports programming, creator-led entertainment, documentaries, podcasts and other specialist content.
Sony is also using the service to showcase some of its own programming, including content from Sony Pictures Television. The company says more channels and content will be added over time, although it hasn’t provided a specific schedule for future additions.
The launch is particularly notable given Sony’s history with live TV on PlayStation. The company previously operated PlayStation Vue, a subscription-based service that competed with platforms such as YouTube TV and Sling. Sony shut down PlayStation Vue in 2019, leaving the company without a dedicated live TV offering on its console.
This new service takes a very different approach. Rather than asking PS5 owners to pay another monthly fee, Sony is using advertising to provide the live channels for free, putting it in the same broader category as FAST (free ad-supported television) services such as Tubi, The Roku Channel and Sling Freestream.
Sony says Live TV on PS5 will eventually expand to other regions, with Canada next in line. The service will also come to Bravia TVs later this year, giving Sony another way to push its free streaming offering beyond the PS5.
For now, though, the PS5 is where Sony’s latest attempt at live TV begins, and more than 100 free channels is a substantial starting point.
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