Sony's PlayStation Vue will bring TV streaming to PS3 and PS4 in early 2015

PlayStation Vue, Sony's streaming television service for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, is slated to launch during the first quarter of 2015, company president and CEO Kaz Hirai announced during Sony's CES conference, IGN reports.

The streaming service was previously only made available to users with an invite-only beta preview.

PlayStation Vue will launch with a package of "around 75 channels per market," said Sony last year. That includes local broadcast networks as well as cable channels from media companies such as Fox, NBCUniversal and Viacom. On-demand content will also be a part of the service, with the previous three days of "popular programming" available at all times, plus the ability for viewers to save episodes of their favorite shows to the cloud and retain access for up to 28 days.

According to the company, PlayStation Vue will deliver a more modern TV-watching experience than legacy cable providers. Users will easily be able to search for the programming they want, and an "explore" feature will let viewers filter live programming and on-demand offerings by parameters like length, program type, genre, popularity and more.

Sony's plans for an internet-based TV service were first announced during CES 2014 in January. Rumors about the service had been circulating since at least January 2013, when Variety reported that the company was negotiating with two different content providers about a cable TV-like service. The Wall Street Journal reported in mid-August 2013 that Sony had inked a deal with Viacom for that service. PlayStation Vue is the biggest example yet of television for people who don't have a cable subscription. HBO announced last month that it plans to launch its own cable-free streaming service in 2015.