TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said on Friday that its planned entertainment content distribution service for network-compatible TVs and other devices will be launched next year.

Sony plans to launch a new online service to distribute movies, music, books and other content to network-capable TVs, Blu-ray players, ebooks and others in a bid to add value to its hardware.

Sony Executive Vice President Kazuo Hirai also told reporters that he is confident sales of its PlayStation 3 game console will hit the official target of 13 million units in the year ending March 2010.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka)