Xbox 360 TV Content Revealed, Why You SHOULDN'T Get Excited

Television content on the Xbox platform is something that has been discussed and hinted at for years.  While the UK was recently given access to Sky TV the US and the rest of the world has been generally kept in the dark as to when they can cancel their cable TV service.  Microsoft today finally revealed their long-awaited plans and while the content looks good from the list there's a whopper of a BUT in there.

You can scroll down a bit to see the full list provided by Major Nelson but let me tell you why you shouldn't get too excited.  As we all know, Cable companies are struggling to retain old customers (new customer sales across the entire cable markets are declining as well) as people brighten up to the fact that you can on-demand content online for a fair price and skip out on the issue of having to pay for stuff you simply aren't interested in watching.  Companies like Time Warner, Verizon and Comcast are doing their best to make sure customers don't cut the cord by offering on-demand contend for free (or a small fee) but their efforts are fleeting at best when a Roku box and subscriptions to Hulu, Netflix and other services are far cheaper.

To that end we see the biggest issue with this announcement: you must be subscribed to these companies' services already in order to get the content.  For Verizon's share of the content, which will come with a few channels to choose from, you must be subscribed to FiOS TV and FiOS broadband internet services.  As for Comcast, which will initially only contain their on-demand line-up, you must be a paying member of their Xfinity TV and Xfinity broadband services.  This means that you would have to subscribe to BOTH companies and each of their four services.  For people like myself who live in a city where Verizon or Comcast really isn't an option then we are simply SOL.

As Karl Bode of BroadbandReports.com asks, what incentive is there for a customer of either of these companies to skip out on what they already have and watch it on their Xbox 360 if the quality is lower and is throttled?  People already have plenty of mobile options like iPads, phones, etc. to choose from in order to get that content.  Given that it is the same content they already offer through their set-top box why not just keep the Xbox turned off and use the remote?  I don't know about you, but having to pony up the necessary monthly bills for TV AND internet while putting up $60 for the Xbox Live Gold membership (yea, you need that too) just seems like too much money.

Please note that, as of this posting, the other partners have yet to announce their plans for the service and what will be provided for each.  Given the precedent Verizon and Comcast are setting it isn't hard to believe that they'll also force you to sign up for their services.  I haven't had television in over a year and a half and I'm happy with what I have right now.  While the content from the other providers may be slightly compelling depending on your tastes you'll probably just end up not being satisfied.

Anyway, those are my thoughts about this announcement.  What do you guys think?

Entertainment Partners on Xbox 360 (Existing and New)

•    ABC iView – Australia
•    AlloCiné – France, Germany, Spain, U.K.
•    Antena 3 – Spain
•    Astral Media’s Disney XD – Canada
•    AT&T** – U.S.
•    BBC – U.K.
•    blinkbox – U.K.
•    Bravo – U.S.
•    BSkyB** – U.K.
•    Canal+* – France, Spain
•    Channel 4 – U.K.
•    Channel 5 – U.K.
•    CinemaNow (Best Buy) – U.S.
•    Comcast – U.S.
•    Crackle – Australia, Canada, U.K., U.S.
•    Dailymotion – Available in 32 markets
•    EPIX – U.S.
•    ESPN** – U.S.
•    Facebook** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
•    FOXTEL** – Australia
•    GolTV – Spain
•    HBO GO – U.S.
•    Hulu – Japan
•    Hulu +**– U.S.
•    iHeartRadio (Clear Channel) – U.S.
•    Last.fm** – U.K., U.S.
•    LOVEFiLM – Germany, U.K.
•    Manga Entertainment – U.S.
•    Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment/Real Sports – Canada
•    Mediaset – Italy
•    MSN with MSNBC.com – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, U.K.
•    MUZU.TV – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K.
•    Netflix**– Canada, U.S.
•    Rogers On Demand Online (RODO) – Canada
•    RTVE – Spain
•    SBS On Demand – Australia
•    Syfy – U.S.
•    Telefonica – Spain
•    Televisa – Mexico
•    “The Today Show” – U.S.
•    TELUS** – Canada
•    TMZ – U.S.
•    Twitter** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
•    UFC – Canada, U.S.
•    Verizon – U.S.
•    VEVO – Canada, U.K., U.S.
•    VimpelCom** – Russia
•    Vodafone Portugal** – Portugal
•    YouTube – Available in 22 markets
•    ZDF – Germany
•    Zune** – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain

* Xbox LIVE Gold membership and/or other subscriptions/fees required. Kinect functionality varies by feature, provider and region.
** Denotes existing partners on Xbox LIVE available today.