Microsoft inks deals with nearly 40 worldwide TV providers for Xbox LIVE TV


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Xbox TV deal no solution for cable cutters

Forget calling Xbox a game console. That doesn't go far enough. Microsoft today announced licensing deals with 40 television content suppliers, including Comcast, HBO, Verizon and even Vevo, a music-video service. Microsoft can tell consumers, any kind of entertainment you want--games, movies, music--we got it. One important caveat: the price isn't cheap. To watch shows from HBO or Comcast on the Xbox, you have to subscribe to those services. If you're one of the cost-conscious people who railed against Netflix after the Web's No. 1 movie rental service raised prices and you were waiting for some rival to come riding over the hill to undercut Netflix, the Xbox is not it. What did you expect? An a la carte channel system, where you could subscribe to ESPN, USA, Bravo, or CNN at $2 to $4 a pop? Or perhaps you were looking for Microsoft to follow such services as Zediva or FilmOn and try to exploit a copyright loophole so it could offer content dirt cheap?

Not a chance. Microsoft has a solid track record of playing by the rules laid down by content owners. And remember, Zediva and FilmOn were sued out of business. No, more likely you were hoping for a new subscription service to hit the scene, a Netflix competitor that charged $10 a month for streaming and DVDs and offered ESPN and HBOGo to boot. Doesn't that sound cool? Quit dreaming. You see, at this point, Hollywood is doing all it can to reduce Netflix's influence. Film and TV execs don't want another subscription service to offer its content at cut-rate prices and help consumers grow more accustomed to paying pennies per viewing. The major film studios, TV networks, and sports leagues have shown where they're making their stand. Traditional distribution partners, such as pay TV, basic cable, and broadcast are getting content and Netflix, GoogleTV and Hulu are struggling to build their libraries.

It comes down to this: Selling through Netflix just isn't as profitable in the long run for the big content owners--especially when it means alienating other partners who pay big bucks. Some of the bigger studios are more than happy to release some of the less popular content through Netflix's online streaming service. But content suppliers are unlikely to help a new low-cost subscription service get off the ground anytime soon.

Don't get me wrong. These content deals were smart for Microsoft. If you own the Xbox and want to catch HBO's "True Blood" or "Game of Thrones," Microsoft just gave you another way to access the shows.

For TV networks, the deal is smart because they have a powerful new distribution outlet, one that doesn't alienate other partners too much but may also introduce their content to a younger generation. Studies show younger audiences haven't shown much interest in subscribing to cable, or for that matter, even owning a TV.

As for Reed Hastings, Netflix's CEO, I don't think he'll be losing too much sleep over the Xbox/cable box. He knows that price is always going to be a powerful selling point and Netflix is still the low-cost leader.

He also knows that Netflix has been available on the Xbox for years.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com.../#ixzz1Zx8HSuyL

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Just found the answer to my own question.

Xbox wont get the BBC iPlayer so don't get your hopes up. I quote...

"Apparently, BBC iPlayer will not be available on the Xbox 360, but certain BBC programmes from MSN Player will be available. This is due to the BBC thinking that it is wrong to pay for BBC Services through Xbox Live Gold."

UK list is now available here...

http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/Live/Partners

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Xbox TV deal no solution for cable cutters

Read more: http://news.cnet.com.../#ixzz1Zx8HSuyL

That article doesn't even make sense. It doesn't focus on the actual offerings of these new services -- it focuses on the impact this will have on Netflix. It also doesn't mention FiOS or the other services that offer live TV. Poorly researched and poorly written.

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Just found the answer to my own question.

Xbox wont get the BBC iPlayer so don't get your hopes up. I quote...

"Apparently, BBC iPlayer will not be available on the Xbox 360, but certain BBC programmes from MSN Player will be available. This is due to the BBC thinking that it is wrong to pay for BBC Services through Xbox Live Gold."

UK list is now available here...

http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/Live/Partners

I seriously don't know why MS won't allow iPlayer for silver users, talk about being stubborn over what is really a non-issue. The bandwidth usage is the BBC's, not Microsoft's. The BBC would even make the application themselves, like they did for PSN.

This saga has been raging on for a while.

Otherwise good to see some TV content on the way I guess.

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I seriously don't know why MS won't allow iPlayer for silver users, talk about being stubborn over what is really a non-issue. The bandwidth usage is the BBC's, not Microsoft's. The BBC would even make the application themselves, like they did for PSN.

This saga has been raging on for a while.

Otherwise good to see some TV content on the way I guess.

Now this is something I can't understand. According to MajorNelsons blog post here; http://majornelson.c...o-transform-tv/

Most of the UK ones wont even require a Gold accont for use, from my understanding of the prefix at the bottom with the ones excluding stars next to them. Channel 4, 5 etc.

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It really seems like this will just be different streaming apps you get to pick, just like espn is right now. Those should be free while some others like HBO GO or the Verizon one will require you to also have a subscription with them, but in those cases those are a bit different. I mean with the others you're getting that one channel but the verizon tv is basically the whole service itself so it makes the 360 another set-top box. At least you aren't getting charged for a box this way, something which I think is silly but that all providers do in the US afaik.

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It really seems like this will just be different streaming apps you get to pick, just like espn is right now. Those should be free while some others like HBO GO or the Verizon one will require you to also have a subscription with them, but in those cases those are a bit different. I mean with the others you're getting that one channel but the verizon tv is basically the whole service itself so it makes the 360 another set-top box. At least you aren't getting charged for a box this way, something which I think is silly but that all providers do in the US afaik.

FiOS is FiOS. It's the same service.

There's plenty of other stuff in there that should require a subscription as well. I'm sure plenty of it (like TMZ, for instance) will be free, but some may require existing subscriptions (via your TV service provider).

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FiOS is FiOS. It's the same service.

There's plenty of other stuff in there that should require a subscription as well. I'm sure plenty of it (like TMZ, for instance) will be free, but some may require existing subscriptions (via your TV service provider).

That's basically what I meant. There should be free and stuff you'll have to pay for but at the same time having the 360 as a set-top box should save you a fee. I know comcast charges you some sorta "rent" fee for their boxes etc.

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Who exactly is the target market with this? Since it is limited to certain channels, I just do not see this replacing any current cable boxes in anyone's home, at least no time soon, and it sounds to me like you may very well need to be a subscriber to cable to begin with to even get the channels? Also will it have a DVR type functionality? On-Demand support?

Just trying to figure out how a normal household could use it, and I am struggling. I guess it could work for a household who has multiple TV's and somehow one of the TV's does not have a cable box hooked up to it. But then I think about it and realize if that is the case, that TV is probably not the ideal TV to have the 360 hooked up to. I also do not see it replacing any cable boxes as that is nowhere near the amount of channels one gets with a cable subscription.

Now if one can somehow get these channels without a current subscription, that makes sense for college kids or people with not that much money. But the normal American household is already going to have cable of some sort. Especially if this is an additional fee on top of the cable they already have, I do not see many people choosing to pay for it. And if it is not an additional fee and it is part of an already existing cable subscription, once the novelty wears off, people are going to realize their normal cable box has about 5 times the amount of content and will go back to using it.

Since the xbox will work as a STB for Fios this is huge for me. With 3 HD boxes and the multiroom DVR I pay $30 a month to Verizon, instead of paying another $7 a month for another STB i can use my spare xbox. From what I can tell there is no extra fee if you already have the cable provider.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Love that it's getting BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk...tv_iplayer.html

I’m part of the Business Development team within the BBC’s Future Media division and work with partners in the media and technology space to keep the BBC at the forefront of innovation and do deals that get our ten online products, (such as iPlayer, and BBC News) onto mobile and IPTV platforms. This is part of our broad strategy to ensure that audiences have access to our online service, whenever and wherever they want and across all four screens (TV, mobile, tablet and desktop).

Within the BBC, our job is to deliver opportunities to work with lots of different platforms and technologies and as part of this work, we have today announced a deal with Microsoft. This will enable us to work closely with them and ultimately reach the considerable audience that Xbox LIVE has to offer (35 million members worldwide – although the focus of this deal is our UK audience).

This deal will mean that the BBC will feature on all of the major gaming platforms in the UK (Wii/PS3/Xbox) and will be a key service on Xbox LIVE.

The level of awareness around connected TVs is still growing, with much of the mainstream audience still exploring the expanded capabilities of their new internet connected TVs, DVD players and set-top boxes – this is partly why the scale of and familiarity with gaming consoles is so exciting – by our estimates, we think that Xbox in the UK has one of the biggest connected footprints and so it’s a great way to reach our audiences.

I look forward to letting you know in the future about other partnerships that we have been working on.

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  • 1 month later...

I guess this is good for some people...but for the people who are tired of seeing fees for everything that is in existence I'll be voting with my wallet on this one.

Xbox 360 gaming is good enough for me, along with the classic Antenna for TV....paid cable / dish services run nothing but repeats anyway, not worth my money when I can simply download whatever I want for free and watch it whenever I want via streaming from my PC to xbox.

The only service I have and is solely for cartoons for my little one is Netflix because it's only $8.

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I guess this is good for some people...but for the people who are tired of seeing fees for everything that is in existence I'll be voting with my wallet on this one.

Xbox 360 gaming is good enough for me, along with the classic Antenna for TV....paid cable / dish services run nothing but repeats anyway, not worth my money when I can simply download whatever I want for free and watch it whenever I want via streaming from my PC to xbox.

The only service I have and is solely for cartoons for my little one is Netflix because it's only $8.

:huh:

What do you mean voting with your wallet? You don't have to pay for anything you don't already pay for with the current TV services. Maybe down the road there will be new options, but there's no way Microsoft won't allow people to not subscribe to a TV service on the 360.

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