October 5, 2011

Xbox 360 Gets Foot In the Door At Cable Operations

Two cable providers - Comcast and Verizon FiOS - will integrate Microsoft's Xbox 360 into their video services.

In a posting on Comcast's corporate blog today, Tony Werner, executive vice president/CTO at Comcast, wrote, "We're excited to be working with Microsoft to bring our Xfinity On Demand service to the Xbox 360 and continue delivering on our promise to give consumers the ability to search, find and watch the content they love in more places, on more devices. Today's video game enthusiasts don't fit the traditional stereotype anymore - they are interactive, social and on the cutting-edge of today's digital lifestyle. Bringing our On Demand content to them via the Xbox 360 gives them more ways to experience entertainment in an environment that's familiar to them.

"As we move to new platforms and devices, our goal is to bring consumers even better experiences. Our team of engineers and software developers in Comcast Labs are using both IP and cloud-based technology to take full advantage of each platform - whether it's an iPad app ...XfinityTV.com...our next generation Xfinity TV guide...connected TVs and now gaming consoles.

Through our partnership with Microsoft, we'll offer our customers a unique and innovative way to discover, control and experience thousands of On Demand programs from leading networks and studios, using unique features like Kinect's voice and gesture controls. And, because Xfinity TV's Xbox experience is built on a private IP platform, we can deliver a more personal and integrated, next-generation experience. The Xbox experience also is more evidence that consumers can increasingly buy devices of their choosing at retail in order to access video content from a variety of sources, including video content from their multichannel video provider.



Werner concluded: "We're planning to offer Xfinity On Demand on the Xbox 360 in the coming months."


In separate news, Verizon and Microsoft announced an agreement that will open the door to a new FiOS TV-powered entertainment experience for the Xbox 360.  Using a Verizon-developed software application, FiOS TV and Internet customers who are also Xbox LIVE Gold members will be able to view popular live TV channels through their Xbox consoles without any extra hardware required. This holiday, Verizon will bring a selection of popular live TV channels to Xbox 360 and will be a leader in delivering live, multichannel streaming HD TV, integrated with Kinect, via the Xbox.