PSP to get Sky's video on demand

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe on Friday confirmed a partnership with Sky to bring a video-on-demand service to PlayStation Portable owners in the UK and Ireland.

A joint-venture company is being formed with equal board-level representation from both SCEE and News Corp-owned Sky to "draw on the unrivalled entertainment aggregation expertise and technical leadership of Sky, and the handheld entertainment knowledge and brand power of PlayStation," according to an SCEE press release.

The new firm's aim is, according to Sony, to "establish PSP and [Sky's] new ground-breaking video download service as the natural partners for those seeking the ultimate choice of portable entertainment content."

Sony also claimed that discussions were ongoing across Europe to roll out similar services in continental markets, but made no mention of US or Australian plans.

Sky has offered an on-demand video service since the end of March, which allows users to watch programmes from channels such as MTV Trax, E!, Extreme Sports and CNN on 3G-capable mobile phones.

Details on exactly what the service will entail, and how it will relate to the Sky Anytime mobile service, are scant at present, but more details are set to be released at the Games Convention in Leipzig on 22 August.

The announcement follows Sony's E3 launch of a PSP TV tuner for Japan.