Following on from the launch of Project Natal (the new Xbox console controller) by Microsoft this week, it seems the reverberations are already being felt.
The claim made by Steve Spielberg that Project Natal would open up the world of gaming to a wider audience, outside of the usual suspects, has already reached the ears of the broadcasters and they are buying into it, and now responding.
Today, Sky (equivalent of Foxtel) in the UK have launched their TV-on-demand service 'Sky Player' on Microsoft’s Xbox Live platform.
This move is significant and will help kick-start a rush of content owners and broadcasters keen to get on board the growing games console market.
From October 2009, Xbox Live will offer the Sky Player, including live pay-TV channels such as Sky Sports and an on-demand library of programmes, movies, news and sport.
The deal will allow Xbox Live users to sign up to a number of subscription packages, to be revealed closer to launch, as well as watch programming on a pay-per-view basis.
The move is part of Sky’s continuing strategy to extend its services across multiple platforms to reach a wider audience and grow its customer base above and beyond the traditional TV set.
Sky follows the BBC, which has already launched its iPlayer on the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3, but it’s the first broadcaster to move onto the Xbox Live platform, now tipped to grow dramatically as a result of Project Natal.
These significant partnerships come as broadcasters push on-demand services from the PC to the TV, and industry experts predict games consoles will be the next platform to drive this content as more are connected to the internet.
Last year 12.2m Xbox consoles were connected to the internet, and this is expected to grow by 36% to 16.7m globally in 2009.
This represents huge opportunities for content companies and broadcasters looking to extend their reach and boost monetisation in the face of declining standard TV audiences and advertising spends, they now have the chance to monetise on-demand services on a much larger scale....
A quote from Andy Taylor, digital media director at production company All3Media, said, “Games consoles are the next natural step for broadcasters looking at other ways to get their on-demand content onto TV.”
Ultimately, broadcasters wants to get content to viewers wherever they are, whether that’s TV, online or Xbox....
The claim made by Steve Spielberg that Project Natal would open up the world of gaming to a wider audience, outside of the usual suspects, has already reached the ears of the broadcasters and they are buying into it, and now responding.
Today, Sky (equivalent of Foxtel) in the UK have launched their TV-on-demand service 'Sky Player' on Microsoft’s Xbox Live platform.
This move is significant and will help kick-start a rush of content owners and broadcasters keen to get on board the growing games console market.
From October 2009, Xbox Live will offer the Sky Player, including live pay-TV channels such as Sky Sports and an on-demand library of programmes, movies, news and sport.
The deal will allow Xbox Live users to sign up to a number of subscription packages, to be revealed closer to launch, as well as watch programming on a pay-per-view basis.
The move is part of Sky’s continuing strategy to extend its services across multiple platforms to reach a wider audience and grow its customer base above and beyond the traditional TV set.
Sky follows the BBC, which has already launched its iPlayer on the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3, but it’s the first broadcaster to move onto the Xbox Live platform, now tipped to grow dramatically as a result of Project Natal.
These significant partnerships come as broadcasters push on-demand services from the PC to the TV, and industry experts predict games consoles will be the next platform to drive this content as more are connected to the internet.
Last year 12.2m Xbox consoles were connected to the internet, and this is expected to grow by 36% to 16.7m globally in 2009.
This represents huge opportunities for content companies and broadcasters looking to extend their reach and boost monetisation in the face of declining standard TV audiences and advertising spends, they now have the chance to monetise on-demand services on a much larger scale....
A quote from Andy Taylor, digital media director at production company All3Media, said, “Games consoles are the next natural step for broadcasters looking at other ways to get their on-demand content onto TV.”
Ultimately, broadcasters wants to get content to viewers wherever they are, whether that’s TV, online or Xbox....
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