Disney, Fox, and Viacom Board Sony's Internet TV?

Last we heard about Sony’s internet TV plans were in 2012 where Sony Network Entertainment VP Michael Aragon has confirmed that the company has flirted with the idea of offering TV over the internet. At the time, Aragon believed that lack of bandwidth and proper business model was hindering Sony’s ability to full invest in the vision. Now, reports are popping up once again that not only has Sony not forgotten about their internet TV ambitions, but that Disney, Fox, and Viacom might be onboard. If true, between the 4 mega studios (with Sony Pictures automatically being on board), the service could offer a compelling platform for those looking to cut ties with their cable provider.

In the case of content, Viacom from a TV standpoint would be a big gain for the yet to be announced platform with 22 of their channels coming on board. Those include stations like Comedy Central, TV, VH1, BET, CMT, and Nickelodeon. Now lets talk about the service itself.

While details are light, it’s not hard to imagine how Sony will likely deliver content. Crackle, owned by Sony Pictures is a service that offers TV shows and movies with no fees. Of course nothing that’s free is actually free and so Crackle unlike other services requires you to watch commercials with no ability to fast-forward. We recently ran an in depth look at Crackle that’s worth your time to read. Whatever this service ends up being called, it will likely be based on some form of subscription a la Netflix or Hulu.

Accessible via an app, Sony has already outlined their vision where the service would be available on 70 million devices. Like Crackle, Sony will likely not limit the app to just their device and expand to Android and even be available on competing platforms like Xbox. It’s believed that Sony will also be heavily relying on the cloud where you can save shows DVR style, perfected for live shows and events.

Licensing is still believed to be a major hurdle so don’t expect anything official from Sony till likely next year. Maybe CES 2015?