Hulu’s live TV service is now on PS4 consoles after PlayStation Vue shutdown

Hulu is bringing its live TV service, which is separate from its standalone on-demand streaming app, to PlayStation 4 consoles now that Sony’s competing PlayStation Vue pay-TV service has been shut down. Hulu + Live TV, as it’s called, is a $54. 99-a-month bundle that includes live television broadcasts from a number of channels in addition to an ad-free standard Hulu subscription. You can also pay extra for additional channel options.

Hulu with Live TV joins YouTube TV, the Google-owned video site’s own pay-TV offering, as the only other option for live programming on Sony consoles right now. For years, Sony didn’t allow certain streaming services onto its game consoles because it operated its own competing Vue service. But last fall, Sony announced that it would be exiting the market and shutting down Vue in January 2020, primarily due to the steep licensing costs pay-TV providers have to pay the channel owners to stay competitive and retain those channels. Over time, those increasing licensing costs resulted in price hikes across the board for most providers, including Hulu and YouTube.

Most now cost over $50 a month, which is still less than cable but a far cry from the original promise of the elusive skinny bundle. Instead of raising its prices, Sony decided simply to get out of the game. But by doing so, it left PS4 owners who may have been using the game console as a media center without any option for a cable alternative with live programming. That’s where Hulu and YouTube now come in.

The Hulu with Live TV option should now show up in the main Hulu app on the PlayStation Store online here or if you search for it on the console itself. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.