The Wall Street Journal reports sources say Sony chief Howard
Stringer is quietly developing a video-downloading service, which
involves the company's PS3 and PSP game consoles and Bravia HD TVs, to
challenge rival Apple's iTunes service. Unlike Apple's dominance in
music devices and downloads, analysts say the video-downloading market
is up for grabs. Sony has already released a module for its
TVs sold in the U.S. that allows for downloading of Internet content.
For Europe, Sony recently announced a feature for HD TV recording to
PS3s and an ability to transfer content to PSPs. Sony faces
competition from Microsoft, which has been positioning its Xbox 360
console for video downloading. 
Apple's sales of video downloads have
reportedly been declining this year. The Journal notes Sony may hold
an advantage over Apple, given general wariness of Apple's dominance
in music downloads, not to mention Sony owns a movie studio, seemingly
sharing content producers' concerns. Separately, Sony plans to list a
34.5% stake of its financial unit (Sony Financial Holdings) valued at
up to ¥361 billion ($3B), on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Pricing will be
set on Oct. 1, with trading expected to start Oct. 11. Ordinary shares
of Sony gained 0.1% to ¥5,610 ($48.55 ADR equiv. at ¥115.55/$1) on
Tuesday. Sony's ADRs gained 4.1% to $47.78 on Friday.
Sources: Bloomberg,
Reuters,
Wall
Street Journal
Commentary: Sony
Announces HD TV Recording Device for PS3 • Video
Game Companies Extend Bullish Trend • Memo
To Microsoft and Sony: Game Consoles Are For Playing Games
Stocks/ETFs to watch: SNE. Competitors: AAPL, MSFT. ETFs: ADRA, EWJ, ITF
Earnings call transcript: Sony
F1Q07, Apple
F3Q07, Microsoft
F4Q07
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