There was a lot of hype leading up to Microsoft’s keynote at the E3 conference earlier this week, with huge speculation that the company would launch a new live TV service on the Xbox. The announcement itself, however, was a bit of a let-down, at least for those of us in the US. After years of trying to get into the TV game, Microsoft’s latest foray involves live TV as an Xbox app. Sounds great, except the service is only scheduled to launch in the US “by the end of 2012,” and no major broadcast partners have been announced yet. Given how long it took Microsoft to add the Xbox as a U-verse set-top option with the AT&T service, I’m not holding my breath for a speedy deployment.
From Engadget’s coverage of the keynote, it looks like Microsoft has already worked out its guide software and DVR menus for Xbox TV. Execs also announced a new YouTube channel on Xbox Live, and there are hints (see photo above) that Microsoft is making headway with ABC. ESPN content is already in place, so that’s perhaps not a surprising development.
Dave and I sat down with a Microsoft rep back at CES when rumors of an Xbox live TV offering in the US were already making the rounds. And Microsoft has had live BSkyB TV on the Xbox in the UK since 2009. (Thanks, Lawler) It’s certainly progress, but other players are now pursuing the same over-the-top holy grail. Verizon theorized about FiOS as an app back in January, Comcast has said it will bring live TV to iPads later this year, and Time Warner launched a live TV app for the iPad back in March, with Cablevision following suit in April. Microsoft could have been a front-runner years ago with its Xbox-as-trojan-horse. In 2011, it’s just another player at the web TV party.