For weeks the rumor mill was speculating that Microsoft was closing a deal with Comcast and Verizon to bring live TV to Xbox Live. Microsoft has put that rumor to bed with a confirmation. Not only have they signed deals with Comcast and Verizon, they also teamed up with over 40 TV entertainment providers worldwide. HBO, TMZ, Bravo, and SyFy are just a few of the providers that will up on Xbox Live this holiday season in the U.S. Providers like LoveFilm will be available in the U.K., Televisa in Mexico, and so on.
But all this news is leaving me with more questions than answers. How all of this will work? Or if you’ll need subscriptions to each service to access all of this? All of it is up in the air right now. Hate to give any ideas, but I would buy a $100 Xbox Live Platinum membership to gain access to all of this. That’s if it isn’t all free.
Below you’ll find the full list of providers and countries. Let us know what you think of all of this.
· ABC iView – Australia
· AlloCiné – France, Germany, Spain, U.K.
· Antena 3 – Spain
· Astral Media’s Disney XD – Canada
· AT&T** – U.S.
· BBC – U.K.
· blinkbox – U.K.
· Bravo – U.S.
· BSkyB** – U.K.
· Canal+* – France, Spain
· Channel 4 – U.K.
· Channel 5 – U.K.
· CinemaNow (Best Buy) – U.S.
· Comcast – U.S.
· Crackle – Australia, Canada, U.K., U.S.
· Dailymotion – Available in 32 markets
· EPIX – U.S.
· ESPN** – U.S.
· Facebook** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
· FOXTEL** – Australia
· GolTV – Spain
· HBO GO – U.S.
· Hulu – Japan
· Hulu +**– U.S.
· iHeartRadio (Clear Channel) – U.S.
· Last.fm** – U.K., U.S.
· LOVEFiLM – Germany, U.K.
· Manga Entertainment – U.S.
· Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment/Real Sports – Canada
· MediaSet – Italy
· MSN with MSNBC.com – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, U.K.
· MUZU.TV – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K.
· Netflix**– Canada, U.S.
· Rogers On Demand Online (RODO) – Canada
· RTVE – Spain
· SBS On Demand – Australia
· Syfy – U.S.
· Telefonica – Spain
· Televisa – Mexico
· “The Today Show” – U.S.
· TELUS** – Canada
· TMZ – U.S.
· Twitter** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
· UFC – Canada, U.S.
· Verizon – U.S.
· VEVO – Canada, U.K., U.S.
· 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, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., U.S.
