Sony who are struggling to compete against Samsung and LG in the IPTV market, has cut a deal to bundle the ABC iView service in Australia. However users will still have to pay additional broadband costs to access the content if they exceed their monthly limit.
Last month Sony Computer Entertainment, along with Sony Australia, dumped plans to launch their own electronic program guide which would have appeared on a PS3 and Sony Bravia TV.
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Their new service, which is incorporated into new Sony Bravia TVs, will allow users to access ABC content. However broadband connection is needed to access the service.
Already available on the PS3 the service can also be accessed directly via a Sony remote control. Users who use the service will be forced to pay additional bandwidth costs as neither the ABC nor Sony has a deal with an ISP to provide low cost broadband.
Neither Sony, nor the ABC, have released information on how many people are currently taking advantage of the service via the PS3, but insiders have told SmartHouse that less than 1,000 people have used the service.
Sony engineers and the ABC have been jointly developing a user interface after Sony dropped a development relationship with IceTV due to what some observers have said was pressure from a free to air network.
Two years ago IceTV won a major landmark copyright case against Channel Nine over the content of an electronic program guide.
