On Thursday, February 24th, we got to attend an exclusive interview with Sony executives. In attendance were a small group of tech bloggers and editors, and for the first time in history, Sony Electronics President and COO Phil Molyneux agreed to an on-the-record interview with a group of tech journalists. In addition to Mr. Molyneux, we also had the chance to talk to Mike Abary, SVP Home Division, Chris Fawcett, VP TV Business, and Brian Siegel, VP Home Audio.
Sony started the interview with statements about current product lines they’re excited about, such as the PIIQ (pronounced “peek”) line of audio gear aimed at the youth market. PIIQ combines Sony’s decades of experience in personal audio with bright colors and fashionable design that should appeal to a younger demographic. They also talked about an internal restructuring to refocus on core competencies and streamline their sales and support strategies. Mr. Molyneux mentioned “the sea of sameness” regarding LCD TVs from various manufacturers, and included Sony in the pack; he admitted a need to find better ways to inform consumers of ways that Sony products stand out and to differentiate their product lineup from competitors. Of course, he was very proud of Sony’s partnership with Google, GoogleTV integration in to Sony products, and their flagship Bravia line of televisions.
They also mentioned successful flagship products in other markets; their mirrorless DSLR line has met with critical acclaim and their Blu-ray player sales continue to climb.
But the biggest topic in the room was definitely their televisions. They are extremely proud of their TVs and connected home strategy.
However, all is not rosy in connected entertainment land. Net Neutrality is still up in the air; the threat of tiered content or usage-based- billing looms heavy over Americans. Networks are beginning to feel threatened. ISPs have been accused of throttling certain types of content. Where, then, does Sony—who makes the box to watch the stuff—fit in to all this?
Well, we decided to ask. After all, it’s not often a site with a small but highly discerning and educated readership gets a crack at Sony executives.
The Interview
Icrontic: “Several of the networks have blocked the likes of GoogleTV and Boxee from using their content otherwise freely available from the internet. How does Sony plan to deal with this kind of pushback from the network?”
Mike Abary, Senior VP Home Division: “The beauty of the Sony internet TV is that the content is available on TV; it’s just not available on the content owners’ websites. You can still watch the program. You still have access to the content on TV. What we want to deliver is the best consumer experience possible. So we’re encourage content owners to be with us in delivering the best consumer experience possible. As soon as proper business models are completed in regards to access to that content, we think that this issue will be behind us.”
At that point, Noah Kravitz, Editor-at-Large for TechnoBuffalo, mentioned a recent personal anecdote about his experience with this exact problem. He mentioned that he searched for specific content, and instead of finding it on TV, was directed to a confusing website, upon which he still couldn’t find the content. He spent several frustrating minutes looking for the content and eventually gave up.
Mike Abary: “We need to deliver a better experience.”
Fair enough.
Icrontic: “Given that Sony is increasingly incorporating IPTV providers like Netflix into your products: What are you doing to ensure that ISPs continue to deliver this content without artificially inflating the cost of service by demanding payment from the providers for content that ISP subscribers have already paid for with their monthly bill?”
Mike Abary: (laughs) “We’re neutral on net neutrality.” (Serious tone) “It could have a material impact on Sony. Look, we think there’s an ecosystem that exists on the internet. Overall we think that from a standpoint of access to content, it’s something that should be available to all users of the internet. It’s a fairly reasonable stance. We think that if there are providers that have delivery of proprietary content or platforms, we think it perhaps creates unintended consequences. We’d like to create a free, open platform and maintain our stance.”
Mr. Abrary then got candid with us. The consequence of pushback from networks and ISPs is a bad consumer experience. He then brought up Sony’s very own experiences with content protection.
Mike Abrary: “In our recent history, with the Sony e-reader, some people from the publishing world were afraid of digitizing their content. When fear dominates the reasons why people do or don’t do things, especially not providing access to content digitally, consumers will find a way to access content. They’ll find a way.”
You don’t have to read very far into Mr. Abrary’s statement. Consumers will always find a way around draconian or merely annoying content protection schemes.
A new Sony for the new decade?
Could this be a glimpse into a new, more open Sony? A Sony that moves away from their somewhat embarrassing past of being one of the primary purveyors of proprietary protection? Sony has long been known as a company that loves to push proprietary—MiniDisc, MemoryStick, BetaMax, ATRAC, and let’s not forget to mention Extended Copy Protection (XCP), the infamous Sony rootkit.
All of the Sony executives we interviewed were eager to talk about Sony’s ongoing relationship with Google, and mentioned multiple times the open nature of the GoogleTV platform. Maybe, just maybe, we’re seeing the dawn of a new era for Sony; one which embraces open formats and focuses on providing that “better experience” instead of protecting their precious content from nasty pirates.
Other sites that covered the event were fellow Netshelter publishing partners NeoSeeker, Audioholics, and BetaNews. See their sites for more coverage.
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