Virtual MVPD Vidgo has broadened its connected TV footprint, unveiling on Wednesday its streaming service will be available on millions of Sony smart TVs across the U.S.
Under the deal, new and existing Sony TV users will receive a free 30-day trial for Vidgo Premium, which normally costs $79.95 per month. Vidgo’s streaming TV service touts more than 150 TV networks and over 40,000 shows, movies and documentaries.
The agreement with Sony comes roughly a week after Vidgo announced an expanded partnership with Cinedigm, which would see 16,000 additional Cinedigm titles join Vidgo’s library. Also, Vidgo CEO Derek Mattsson had told Fierce Video that Vidgo is holding discussions with third parties about producing and licensing original content.
“We couldn't be more excited to partner with Sony, a global leader and innovator, to include Vidgo prominently on their Sony smart TV homepage, making it easier than ever to access Vidgo’s 40,000 titles live, linear and on-demand,” said Mattsson in a statement.
Vidgo of late has been focusing on ramping up its user experience. In November it rolled out updated navigation features along with a new logo. Shortly afterwards, Vidgo launched a new subscription package – Vidgo Ultimate – that integrates English and Spanish-language channels into a single offering.
As for Sony, the partnership is indicative of the TV maker steadily gaining presence in the smart TV market.
“56% of U.S. homes own a smart TV and Sony continues to increase its share of TV purchases, despite downturns for the traditional top three brands,” stated Parks Associates Research Director Paul Erickson, referring to data the firm published last year.
In an email with Fierce Video, Parks Associates said that 8% of smart TV buyers reported purchasing a Sony smart TV in Q3 2022. Meaning Sony beat out both TCL (6%) and Hisense (5%) in terms of U.S. smart TV share.
Still, Parks Associates noted consumers weren’t purchasing as many Sony TVs as they were for LG (14%), Vizio (14%) and Samsung (34%). Vizio, however, is one OEM that’s focusing more on its TVOS platform while its smart TV sales remain flat.
Separately, the TV OEM space is poised to pick up with Roku soon launching its own branded TVs. TVREV’s Alan Wolk recently shed some light on the “TVOS wars” and why they’re relevant for OEMs.
“Whoever controls the OS controls what content goes on the TV: which apps, what order they appear in, how they’re recommended to viewers, which ones are pre-installed,” Wolk wrote in a February column.