Microsoft is exploring partnerships with Comcast and Verizon Communications in connection with its Xbox service, according to a report.
Microsoft is in discussions over whether consumers could subscribe to Comcast or Verizon’s FiOS TV packages directly through their Xboxes without the need for a set-top box, sources told Digiday.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft reports that its Xbox Live service – connecting users to gaming, TV, movies, music and other entertainment through their Xbox 360 devices – already serves 35 million members around the world, and the company has formed partnerships with TV operators overseas, including Sky TV in the United Kingdom, in order to bring television to Xbox Live.
An alliance with Comcast or Verizon appears logical given their brands and position in the marketplace. Philadelphia-based Comcast is the largest U.S. cable TV operator with 22.5 million video customers at the end of the second quarter, and New York-based Verizon has been rapidly expanding its IPTV service over a fiber network. In the second quarter, Verizon added 184,000 Fios TV connections to end the month of June with 3.8 million customers.
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June, Microsoft revealed plans to expand access to live TV programming on Xbox 360 to more providers in the United States and around the world. U.S. Xbox Live subscribers already can watch Netflix, Hulu and YouTube on the Xbox 360, and Microsoft announced at E3 a partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship to deliver live matches and other content.
