Sony, Viacom Cut Deal to Stream Cable TV Online

PlayStation users, rejoice: You may soon be watching MTV and The Daily Show via a new Internet stream. That's because Sony cut a surprise deal with Viacom to stream its cable channels over Internet-based pay TV by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reports—and those channels include MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. The stream will probably run on PlayStation consoles at first, and appear later on other Sony devices like smartphones and tablets.

Big companies like Google and Intel also want in on the streaming game. But Sony has talked to other major programmers as well, including CBS, Time Warner, and Walt Disney. No word on those, possibly because big entertainment companies either can't or won't undercut deals they've made with pay-TV operators. The big question, per the New York Times: Will deals like Sony-Viacom undercut cable companies, sell lots of new online cable packages, or have no effect at all? (More Viacom stories.)