Following news that Sony is working on a " different kind of TV set ," the Wall Street Journal has reported that the company is also developing an internet-based television service.

According to Variety , the service would be direct competition to cable providers like Comcast and DirecTV. Sony would purportedly share the service across its wide portfolio of electronics, including game consoles, Blu-Ray players and television sets.This approach to content delivery is not unlike the one that Apple is reportedly working on , although a major difference in this instance is Sony's established foothold as a member of the entertainment industry.Taking this alongside the fact that Sony is working on new type of television, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer looks like he wasn't joking when he stated that "I've spent the last five years building a platform so I can compete against Steve Jobs. It's finished, and it's launching now."