Sony launches Qriocity streaming service for movies & music

In a move that seems to have left some analysts in the industry asking “Why?”, Sony has launched their own online streaming service for movies and music.

Dubbed Qriosity, which is supposed to be pronounced “curiosity”, the service seems to be poised to attempt to compete with iTunes, but will only be available in Europe initially and only on select network-enabled Bravia products. In addition to audio and HD video, the service is aiming to eventually add mobile applications and E-books to the mix.

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From Sony’s press release:

"Video On Demand powered by Qriocity™" can be found under the Qriocity icon on the cross media bar on the main menu. After renting a film, consumers have up to 14 days to start watching their movie, and once playback is started, they have 48 hours to watch the film as many times as they like. Rental prices for SD content start from £2.49 (€2.99) for library content and £3.49 (€3.99) for new releases, while HD content start respectively from £3.49 (€3.99) and £4.49 (€4.99).

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While PlayStation Network users can sign into their Qriocity accounts with their PS3s and play music via a Music Unlimited account, it is unfortunate that movie streaming is not supported. There is no word as to whether or not this will be offered in the future, but it would be a smart move if Sony really wants the service to succeed.

Whether or not Sony Bravia customers will be curious enough to try Qriocity for themselves remains to be seen. While Sony has a decent market share, I don’t see it being likely that those customers will be enough to support the service. The company will likely have to expand the service quickly and offer additional functionality in order to truly compete with the major players.

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