The much anticipated roll-out of YouView’s ‘scrollback EPG’ to Sony’s 2015 BRAVIA TV line-up has been confirmed for early November.
Until now YouView has only been available via set top boxes, many of which have been provided by shareholders BT and TalkTalk as part of a pay-TV package.
The platform’s other backers include the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and transmission company Arqiva who have also backed the rival Freeview Play service.
In February YouView and Sony announced their tie-up which gives the TV maker access to BBC iPlayer, 4oD, ITV Player and Demand 5 and YouView’s integrated search facility which can search both upcoming TV programmes and on-demand content at the same time.
The deal is likely to significantly increase the number of households using YouView as a Free to Air platform and help boost consumer awareness of the brand.
A software update bringing the features to Sony’s TVs was initially expected towards the end of this summer, prompting complaints from some social media users unhappy at the delay.
However the two firms have today confirmed that the software is ready to ship and will be automatically downloaded to compatible models on Wednesday 4th November.
John Anderson, Sony UK and Ireland Country Head said “YouView was the natural choice of partner due to the intuitive design and interface and seamless user journey to access a huge content library.
“Harnessing this with the fantastic picture quality and beautiful design of Sony’s BRAVIA TV range we are able to offer our consumers the ultimate TV viewing experience.”
Richard Halton, CEO, YouView said “YouView’s ground breaking integration with Sony gives consumers greater choice on how they access YouView with our range of features and award winning user-interface.
“We already have over 2million connected devices across the UK and with a strong affiliation with such an internationally renowned brand as Sony, YouView will now be available in even more households across the country. We are immensely proud of our first integration into a television set and are excited to continue our partnership as we evolve the platform.”
List of YouView enabled Sony BRAVIA televisions –
4K
KD-75X94C
KD-65X93C
KD-55X93C
KD-75X91C
KD-65X90C
KD-55X90C
KD-65S85C
KD-55S85C
KD-65S80C
KD-55S80C
KD-75X85C
KD-65X85C
KD-55X85C
KD-49X83C
KD-43X83C
KD-55X80C
KD-49X80C
Full HD
KDL-75W85C
KDL-65W85C
KDL-55W80C
KDL-50W80C
KDL-43W80C
KDL-55W75C
KDL-50W75C
KDL-43W75C