Q. I was looking for the DIRECTV Now app on my PlayStation 4, but I couldn’t find it. Do you know where it is? And does PS4 even have DIRECTV Now? Maybe that’s the problem? — Mark, San Diego.
Mark, I get this question quite frequently, and I have even written about it. But the questions keep coming so let me say it again.
DIRECTV Now is not on the PS4. It has never been on the PS4. And it probably never will be!
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You see, the PlayStation, which is owned by Sony, has its own live streaming service, the PlayStation Vue. And therein lies the problem with DIRECTV Now and the PlayStation.
So long as Sony’s gaming console includes its own live streaming service, it’s highly unlikely that it will ever carry DIRECTV Now, a direct rival. The live streaming business is competitive enough as it is; Sony doesn’t want Vue to have to fight for subscribers on its own turf.
It’s really that simple. Sony isn’t stupid (hey, they even employed me once upon a time!) so they have to optimize Vue’s chance of success. So no DIRECTV Now on the PS4!
But what about XBox One?
It says here that AT&T will eventually get a deal with Microsoft to include DIRECTV Now. Microsoft currently does not own a competing product in the live streaming category. So if DIRECTV Now continues to grow, it would seem to be a matter of time for the companies to come together.
In fact, at the DIRECTV Now Help section page for devices, the live streamer says the XBox is “coming soon.” (Okay, that promise has been up for several months, but at least there’s hope there.)
But it doesn’t even list the PlayStation as a device under the ‘Not Yet Available’ category, which is more evidence of the improbability that DIRECTV Now will ever be on the PlayStation.
Ever.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
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