Xbox 360 to Offer Downloadable Movies and TV Shows
Author: Daniel Brooks
November 7th, 2006
The New York Times is reporting that Microsoft is set to enter the downloadable video arena via its Xbox Live service on Xbox 360.
Microsoft said last night that it would offer movies and episodes of television shows for downloading through its Xbox Live online service in the United States, starting Nov. 22.
With the new offerings, Microsoft is joining cable giants and Internet start-ups on the long list of companies hoping to profit from video downloading. But Internet-based services have had trouble getting traction because it can be complex to send a downloaded film to a television screen and frustrating to watch it on the small screen of a computer. Owners of the Xbox have already connected it to a TV and, in most cases, the Internet.
“What makes this big is that there’s no PC in the middle,” said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.
Microsoft has negotiated the rights to rent or sell more than 1,000 hours of material from CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount, Warner Brothers and Turner Broadcasting, along with the martial arts show “Ultimate Fighting Championship.” Some programs will be available in high-definition video.
The next-gen race just got a little more interesting…
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7 Responses to “Xbox 360 to Offer Downloadable Movies and TV Shows”
November 7th, 2006 at 9:00 am
Sounds even worse for the PS3…
November 7th, 2006 at 9:18 am
Frankly, of all the things the PS3 has to overcome to succeed at this point, this is pretty low on the list, especially since they announced 2 weeks ago that they were going to be doing the downloaded games and movies thing.
November 7th, 2006 at 9:26 am
The PS3 better have the greatest launch game in the history of consoles. Otherwise, it’s just going to limp through 2007.
November 7th, 2006 at 9:54 am
People are still excited for the PS3 — the name recognition will carry it a long way. But if Sony is ever going to be overtaken, this is the time.
November 7th, 2006 at 10:16 am
Will name recognition be enough to overpower the pricetag?
November 7th, 2006 at 10:20 am
Not if the pricetag is over $500, that’s for damn sure.
November 7th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
What are the launch games for PS3? It feels a lot like PSP to me. Lots of potential, lots of bells and whistles, but not many good games.