PlayStation Vue was the second live TV streaming service to launch targeting cord cutters. Over the last few years, it has built an extremely loyal and dedicated fan base. But for some reason, it has failed to compete with newcomers like YouTube TV, Hulu, AT&T TV NOW, and has always been in the shadow of Sling TV when looking at subscribers.
Recently, multiple studies and even Roku have listed PlayStation Vue behind services like YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu, AT&T TV NOW, and now even Philo according to Roku. This leaves many to wonder why PlayStation Vue is behind new services especially since it has such a huge, very vocal fan base.
So today we are going to take a look at a few of the reasons PlayStation Vue has lagged behind other services.
#1 Marketing
Sony has never been as aggressive in marketing as some other services. This year for example Sony has dramatically cut back on marketing for PlayStation Vue. Most TV commercials for PlayStation Vue have been canceled and even web banners have been dramatically reduced.
Even in the past when PlayStation Vue had aggressive marketing much of it was to promote the fact that it worked on more than just a PlayStation game console. This likely hindered its affectedness.
Sony has also never had a dedicated social media push for PlayStation Vue. To this day, PlayStation Vue does not have a Facebook or Twitter account dedicated to the service. Instead, Sony uses the PlayStation account for any news about PlayStation Vue.
#2 Name Confusion
As you saw above, much of PlayStation Vue’s marketing has been an effort to promote the fact that you don’t need a PlayStation. This has seriously hampered its ability to promote the service and convince buyers why its better than its competition. When you have to spend most of your outreach to new subscribers explaining your service, you can’t effectively promote why you are the best option on the market.
Recently Sony redesigned its website to downplay PlayStation and promote other devices like Roku, Fire TV, and the Apple TV. This has helped but the damage has likely already been done as Sony is now trying to play catch up.
#3 Communication With Subscribers
PlayStation Vue has a history of very poor communication with its subscribers. Sony has repeatedly launched great new features or new channels but left it up to subscribers to just find out what they changed. In the past, Sony has also only given a few hours notice when major changes have happened. For example when Sinclair locals where removed for a bit Sony gave just a few hours notice that the channels would be leaving and the DVR recordings removed.
Recently Sony has been working on improving this but the lack of a dedicated social media account and regular updates about new channels and features has left many subscribers looking at other more vocal services.
Sony not only needs to reach out to new subscribers but when subscribers can leave at any time they need to do a better job of communicating to current subscribers.
So does Sony care about PlayStation Vue growth?
This question has been around for over a year now. Last year some Sony investors called on PlayStation Vue to sell or shutdown the service. Sony’s President responded saying PlayStation Vue gave them valuable data.
For a time after that PlayStation Vue received a lot of attention with new partnership deals with Apple and Amazon. Plus a new marketing push with ads on ESPN and ABC’s college football coverage. But now that attention has died off. This has left many to once again wonder what’s in store for PlayStation Vue.
For now we just don’t know what Sony is up to at this time. As of today it does appear that Sony is not putting as much effort into promoting PlayStation Vue but at the same time Sony has released updated apps and a newly refreshed PlayStationVue.com website. Yet Sony seems to be doing little to help it gain market share as its competitors aggressively promote their services even as Sony adds new networks like the ACC Network and NHL Network to PlayStation Vue.
So what do you think of how Sony has been running PlayStation Vue? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.
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