360 To Link With Satellite TV Service

By Luke Plunkett

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Later this week, Microsoft is due to host a big press conference in London. What's on the table? Oh, full integration of satellite television with the Xbox 360.

British site Rapid TV News claims that BSkyB (or Sky, as it's more commonly known), the UK's biggest pay TV provider, will announce tomorrow a deal linking its subscription TV services with Microsoft's console.

How this would work, exactly, is anyone's guess, but we'd imagine it would be similar to how the PlayStation 3 currently manages free-to-air TV in Europe with its PlayTV setup.

You know how the Netflix deal was big business for both Microsoft and Netflix in the US? With Sky's roster of sports in the UK, this would probably be just as successful in Ol' Blighty.

BSkyB link with Microsoft on X-Box [Rapid TV News]

if its true, great news, but i dont know if it will catch on that well

360 is fast becoming the media centre of the living room.

there probably wont be any addition to you. Maybe it will be an on-demand service or the Sky Player on 360. Just thought, if the Zune HD gets released ww, then maybe we will see integration into that. If you got wifi on 360, you can watch sky live on ur ZHD, that would be seriously good

The press event is entitled 'Experience the Vision' so although collaboration with Sky could be one part of the announcement it could also be making the long awaited announcement about the BT Vision deal last year is about to hit the streets.

What's BT??

Sky is massive here in the UK, and depending on what way they work it out this could be a very good business move.

Im getting the feeling MS wants to lock up the UK as its territory then.
BT and Sky are two of the most advertised and biggest names over here

^Yep.

There's so many possibilities as to what the companies could do. I can see alot of advertising coming from this, you know the 360 and Sky TV for example getting promoted in the same ad

Yeah, this is genius, pure genius tbh,

If Microsoft gets the 360 partnered with BSkyB and BT then there will be no competition for the 360 in the UK as it will be at the top of entertainment in the UK, TV services, Phone services, Broadband Services, On demand services, movie services etc, it's everything they could want and more!

Sky has over 30 million subscribers in the UK for Sky TV, 4 million on it's broadband, 2 million on it's phone service, BT has 20 million subscribers in the UK for phone services, 6 million for broadband services and 3 million for TV Services, that is a LOT of potential customers!!!

Maybe Sky may start giving 360's with their TV Deals instead of the sky plus box? it would offer the same (on demand, record tv, rewind tv, pause tv) using 360's HDD plus sky customers would get a gaming console thrown in too!? imagine how many would be sold!

Or maybe Sky will offer a "netflix" type deal where 360 owners will be able to watch any tv programme or film on their 360 when they want, that also makes sense as UK owners have been missing a "netflix" type feature :)