HBO has officially announced their major expansion of the Xbox 360′s marketplace with on-demand and live streaming television channels. The Xbox Live Dashboard Fall Update will include HBO, Bravo, Crackle, Epix, Syfy, Vevo, UFC, YouTube, and The Today Show.
Microsoft’s Larry Hryb, aka Major Nelson, proclaimed, “Today we are happy to announce plans to roll out the next generation of TV entertainment on Xbox LIVE. We have nearly 40 world class TV and entertainment providers coming to Xbox LIVE including: Bravo, Comcast, HBO GO, Verizon FiOS and Syfy in the U.S.; BBC TV and radio in the U.K.; Telefónica in Spain; Rogers On Demand in Canada; Televisa in Mexico; ZDF in Germany; and MediaSet in Italy, that will begin rolling out to consoles in more than 20 countries this holiday.”
The following services and channels will be offered, with countries listed afterword. This will require, of course, an Xbox Live Gold membership to enjoy:
• 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
* 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.
Jonah Falcon is a blogger for TMRzoo and GameStooge.com and covers all gaming consoles and platforms including Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP and computer games designed for Mac OS, Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. Jonah provides his readers with reviews, previews, release dates and up to date gaming industry news, trailers and rumors.
