Sony’s over-the-top subscription TV service could serve up to 100 channels and fetch up to $80 per month, the New York Post reported Sunday (October 5), with sources telling the paper that the CE giant “got creamed in [carriage] negotiations.”

The paper, citing another unnamed source, indicated that the package could sell for a bit less – between $60 to $65 per month, putting it in-line with a traditional basic cable package. Of course, those potential monthly service fees don’t factor in the cost of the broadband service required to get the OTT service into the house.

But, if those numbers turn out to be correct, it’s yet another indication that breaking the traditional pay-TV model is continuing to prove difficult even as over-the-top, multiscreen video services continue to gain in popularity and a new wave of “virtual” MVPDs prepare to enter the market.

Sony “had huge ambitions of breaking up the bundle and being the champion of the consumer, but they’ve had no success in doing that and they’re licking their wounds,” a source told the Post. 

That might sound familiar. With its eye originally fixed on creating more flexible, "smart" bundles, Intel Media had similar ambitions with OnCue and, according to sources, had even secured the carriage deals it needed to pull it off. But Intel ultimately balked at those requirements, eventually punting on the idea and selling those assets to Verizon Communications.

Sony, meanwhile, declined to comment on the report in the Post, noting that it has not announced any pricing or packaging for its coming service. But a spokesman said the company still plans to start public testing of the new service before the end of the year.

Sony announced that plan in January at the CES confab. In June, Shawn Layden, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, told Re/code that the new service, which he billed as “revolutionary,” was “on track” to debut sometime later in the year “in some capacity.”

Sony has announced one carriage deal for the new OTT service, with Viacom. That agreement covers "at least" 22 Viacom cable channels at launch, as well as access the Viacom's full on-demand package.

Dish Network is also developing a virtual MVPD service that, based on recent trademark filings, might carry the brand “nutv.”  Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen said in August that he expects to launch a single-stream OTT offering by the end of the year.

Dish has already announced that it has secured digital streaming rights with Walt Disney Co., Scripps Networks, and A+E Networks, but hasn’t announced details on how it will price and package its service, though it’s believed that Dish intends to sell it in the range of $20 to $30 per month.

Variety reported late last week that Dish wants to offer local broadcast TV channels on a separate, premium tier for its new OTT service, but it’s unclear if Dish is having success trying to obtain the rights to pull it off.

A week after Sony made a splash by signing up Viacom’s 22 networks to its planned over-the-top video offering, Dish Network announced that Scripps Interactive Networks has signed a comprehensive deal to offer its suite of channels including Food Network, HGTV and Great American Country to its own service targeted at Millennials.

Dish has said that it plans to launch the service – which some believe could be  named “nuTV” – early next year.

The Scripps agreement includes over-the-top (OTT) multi-stream rights for live and Video-on-Demand content. The agreement also expands Dish’s distribution of authenticated live and Video-on-Demand Scripps Networks programming on Internet-connected devices.

Moreover, the agreement widens exposure of Scripps Networks programming to a larger swath of DISH’s traditional viewer base by opening DIY Network and Cooking Channel to the popular “America’s Top 200” programming package.

The renewal agreement applies to the entire suite of Scripps Networks channels, including: HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country.

“DISH is delighted to add Scripps Networks’ award-winning lifestyle content to our growing library of sports, family, educational and entertainment options that will create a redefined video experience for a new type of consumer,” said Dish CEO Joseph Clayton in a statement. “This wide-ranging agreement gives DISH customers dynamic access to Scripps Networks programming today and tomorrow.”

The OTT rights allow access to Scripps Networks content through a future multi-stream subscription service of linear and Video-on-Demand content. With this capability, the content will be available to an untapped segment of customers that is seeking a flexible, content-driven, Internet-accessible service.

“This agreement demonstrates the consistent strength and popularity of our portfolio of brands, and enables even more people to enjoy DIY Network and Cooking Channel in addition to our existing offering on Dish,” said Scripps Interactive chairman and CEO Kenneth Lowe in a statement. “We are committed to making our lifestyle content available to consumers wherever and whenever they want it. This first-of-its-kind OTT deal for Scripps Networks Interactive enables us to reach even more people through Dish’s innovative services.”

The renewal also expands the authenticated Scripps Networks programming available to DISH customers at home or on-the-go via Internet-connected devices – televisions, computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and other devices. Dish customers will be able to use the DISH Anywhere™ app, dishanywhere.com and Scripps Networks’ web properties and apps to view live, Video-on-Demand and full-season content.

The updated agreement follows news of Dish’s groundbreaking agreements with The Walt Disney Company, announced in March, and with A+E Networks, announced in August.

Sony’s coming “virtual” pay-TV service took a step closer to the real Wednesday as the CE giant and Viacom announced that they have inked a distribution deal that covers "at least" 22 Viacom cable channels at launch, as well as access the Viacom's full on-demand package.

Sony, like Dish Network and others, is developing a broadband-fed services tailored to reach younger demographic sets, including so-called cord-cutters and consumers who have never taken a pay-TV service. While cord-cutting remains a small but growing threat to the traditional pay-TV industry, 84% of U.S. homes still subscribe to some form of pay television, and 35% of households that don’t take pay-TV have never subscribed to a pay-TV service, according to a recent study from Leichtman Research Group. LRG also found that the number of U.S. cable broadband subs surpassed cable pay-TV subs for the first time in the second quarter of 2014.

The distribution deal between Sony and the Viacom comes after Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman predicted last year at a UBS conference that there was a “very strong chance” that a virtual MVPD would be announced in 2014

At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Sony announced that it intended to start testing an OTT pay-TV service sometime in 2014. In June, Shawn Layden, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, told Re/code that the service, which he billed as “revolutionary,”  was “on track” to debut sometime later in the year “in some capacity.”

Sony hasn’t announced a launch date for the cloud-based TV service, only noting Wednesday that more details about it will be announced “in the near future.”

“Our new cloud-based TV service will combine the live TV content people love most about cable with the dynamic experience they have come to expect from our network,” Andrew House, group executive for Sony’s Network Entertainment Business, said in a statement. “Viacom’s award-winning networks are a perfect match for our new service, ensuring that our customers will be able to access the shows they love on their favorite devices, when and how they choose.”

Thanks to the Viacom deal, Sony’s coming service will have access to BET, CMT, Comedy Central. MTV, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nicktoons, Spike, TV Land, VH1, BET Gospel, Centric, Logo, CMT Pure Country, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, mtvU, Palladia, TeenNick, and Vh1 Classic. The Viacom-Sony deal also includes authenticated TV Everywhere rights. Viacom currently offers TV Everywhere apps from Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, VH1, CMT and Logo.

Dish Network is also working on an internet based TV service and has signed up Walt Disney Co. and A+E Networks.

“Viacom always strives to create transformational opportunities that combine consumer value and technological innovation,” Dauman said, in a statement. “Given our young, tech-savvy audiences, our networks are essential for any new distribution platform, and we’re excited to be among the many programmers that will help power Sony’s new service and advance a new era for television.”

Dish Network is also developing a virtual MVPD service that, based on recent trademark filings, might carry the brand “nutv.”

Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen said last month that he expects to launch a single-stream OTT offering by the end of the year. Dish has already secured digital streaming rights with Walt Disney Co. and A+E Networks.

Intel Media pursued a virtual MVPD offering, secured its programming distribution rights, but got cold feet and opted to drop out and sell its “OnCue” assets to Verizon Communications.

It’s appearing more and more likely that “nutv” will be the brand that Dish Network will apply to its upcoming over-the-top subscription video service that’s being tailored for a small but growing group of cord-cutters and cord-nevers.  

GigaOm, which ironically used to run an news site focused on the emerging online video market under the NewTeeVee label, reported Tuesday that the Dish Digital unit has recently filed several trademarks for the nutv brand, including a possible logo (pictured above). The report also points out that the nutv brand, which carries the pseudo mark of “New TV,” according to a recent trademark filing, has also begun to show up in Dish Digital’s existing apps.

It’s not the first time Dish has danced with the brand. In 2013, when its OTT service was still considered a rumored offering in-the-making, Dish filed for a trademark on “NÜTV.” More than a year later, it appears that the umlaut is now out of style.

But even without the umlaut, it still looks like “nut-v” at first glance to me, so Dish might still have a bit of a branding challenge on its hands if it indeed goes forward with that as the brand of its OTT offering. But differentiating the color of "nu" and "tv" helps. Some.

Then again, it’s possible that Dish will go in a different direction with the name of the service. Dish was not immediately available to comment on the latest filings that were uncovered by GigaOm. Update:  Dish declined to comment.

Still, the description associated with the latest nutv filings does mention the sort of things one might expect to get from Dish’s OTT service, including “downloadable movies, television series, [and] television programs,” as well as “webcasting, streaming and transmission of audio, video, subscription television and video-on-demand content via the internet and electronic communications networks.”

Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen said last month that the company should be able to launch its single-stream OTT offering by the end of the year, as it has already salted away streaming video rights with Walt Disney Co. and A+E Networks.

Time Warner Inc. chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said in May that Dish’s coming OTT service will limit volumes to 5 million subs overall, then told analysts later in the year that his company is open to OTT service providers so long as they are “additive” to the media giant's current distribution relationships.

But some analysts have already begun to question whether the expected price point and anticipated smaller margins will give Dish’s OTT play much of a pay-off.