The CEO of Sony France has confirmed that the company plans to launch a Google TV product in the country on September 24th, in a bid to challenge the telcos’ domination of the local TV market.
Philippe Citroen told Agence France-Presse that he plans to initially introduce a set-top box that will come pre-integrated with the catch-up TV services of broadcasters such as France Televisions, in addition to services such as YouTube and music from Sony Entertainment Network.
There are expected to be two versions of the device – a basic one for €199, and a more upmarket version with a Blu-ray Player for around €299 that will come onto market shortly afterwards.
Sony will be up against some stiff competition however: telcos such as Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad/Free control a huge slice of the country’s pay-TV market, offering advanced IPTV services that in many cases include catch-up TV, apps such as YouTube, cloud gaming and more besides.
