BBC, LoveFilm & 4oD coming to Xbox 360
Microsoft has announced partnership deals with BBC, LoveFilm, 4oD, VEVO and Blinkbox for the Xbox 360.
In the UK, services including BBC programmes, 4oD, Channel 5 and LoveFilm will be available on Xbox Live.
Other services will also be coming to the UK in the future, including Blinkbox, AlloCine, Crackle, MSN with MSNBC.com, MUZU.TV and VEVO.
The deal will also mean worldwide additions, including Canal+ for France and Spain, and Comcast, Verizon, Syfy, TMZ and HBO GO for the US.
“Today’s announcement is a major step toward realising our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy,” said president of entertainment business Don Mattrick. “Combining the world’s leading TV and entertainment providers with the power of Kinect for Xbox 360* and the intelligence of Bing voice search will make TV and entertainment more personal, social and effortless.”
A number of services, such as LoveFilm, will make use of Kinect, which offers hands-free navigation and voice commands for playback options as well as searching for programmes.
New entertainment channels are expected to be made available before Christmas.
Microsoft’s new services in full:
- ABC iView – Australia
- AlloCiné – France, Germany, Spain, UK
- Antena 3 – Spain
- Astral Media’s Disney XD – Canada
- AT&T** – US
- BBC – UK
- blinkbox – UK
- Bravo – US
- BSkyB** – UK
- Canal+* – France, Spain
- Channel 4 – UK
- Channel 5 – UK
- CinemaNow (Best Buy) – US
- Comcast – US
- Crackle – Australia, Canada, UK, US
- Dailymotion – Available in 32 markets
- EPIX – US
- ESPN** – US
- Facebook** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
- FOXTEL** – Australia
- GolTV – Spain
- HBO GO – US
- Hulu – Japan
- Hulu +**- US
- iHeartRadio (Clear Channel) – US
- Last.fm** – UK, US
- LOVEFiLM – Germany, UK
- Manga Entertainment – US
- Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment/Real Sports – Canada
- MediaSet – Italy
- MSN with MSNBC.com – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, UK
- MUZU.TV – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK
- Netflix**- Canada, US
- Rogers On Demand Online (RODO) – Canada
- RTVE – Spain
- SBS On Demand – Australia
- Syfy – US
- Telefonica – Spain
- Televisa – Mexico
- “The Today Show” – US
- TELUS** – Canada
- TMZ – US
- Twitter** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
- UFC – Canada, US
- Verizon – US
- VEVO – Canada, UK, US
- VimpelCom** – Russia
- Vodafone Portugal** – Portugal
- YouTube – Available in 22 markets
- ZDF – Germany
- Zune** – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain
* Xbox LIVE Gold membership and/or other subscriptions/fees required. Kinect functionality varies by feature, provider and region.
** Denotes existing partners on Xbox LIVE available today.