Q. I live in Washington, D.C. and I recently subscribed to Sony’s Play Station Vue. But I am planning soon to move to Boston. My question is: Will I continue to get local channels from DC when I move to Boston or can I change my account so I will get my local Boston programming? — Neal, Washington, D.C.
Neal, that’s a good question. But first, let me explain Sony’s Play Station Vue to our readers who are not familiar with the service.
Vue is a streaming service that offers both live national cable channels, and local channels, such as network affiliates (in select markets) and regional sports channels. In Washington, D.C., as you know, you can watch NBC Sports Washington, which airs games played by the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals. The Washington area NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox affiliates are also available. (However, Vue does not have MASN, which airs the games of the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles.)
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So what happens if you move to Boston? Will you continue to get these DC channels?
Sony says you can change your home address for Vue if you move. The first time you attempt to access your account after you move, you will see an on-screen prompt that will ask you if you want to change your home location. At that point, you can type in your new address and zip code.
After that, you will begin to see the Boston area local programming, which includes the local CBS, NBC ABC and Fox affiliates as well as NBC Sports Boston, which airs the Boston Celtics games, and NESN, the TV home of the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins.
Sony says you can only change your home address three times a year. (It used to be just once). Your account may be blocked if you changed it more than that.
Why?
The company is trying to prevent people from traveling to different locations so they can watch sporting events that are blacked out in their area. For instance, let’s say you lived in Los Angeles, and the MLB Network was airing a game between the Mets and Dodgers. Normally, you would be blacked out in the LA market. But if you took your smart phone or laptop outside the LA market, typed in a non-LA market address, you could conceivably watch the game using Vue.
But under Sony’s rules, if you try to do that more than three times in 12 months, your account could be terminated.
Last note: Sony Vue’s programming plans begin at $39.99 a month.
Happy Viewing!
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— Phillip Swann
