Just prior to this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles last month, Microsoft unveiled plans to make Sky TV available to Xbox 360 gamers across the UK and Ireland. In a world first, Microsoft and Sky are set to make live premium television available directly through a videogames console. The story gets even more interesting, however, with the revelation today that one of the parties involved is currently conducting market research for the prospect.
Details of the full channel line-up will be revealed closer to launch, but it is anticipated that Xbox LIVE! users will be able to access blockbuster movies, entertainment shows, documentaries, kids TV, music and the arts, as well as Premier League football, Test Match cricket and a wide variety of other sports through Sky Sports. For a new customer joining Sky through their
Xbox 360, Sky Player will offer a wide range of live channels and on-demand content via a number of different packages. These customers will also be able to access their favourite shows on a pay-per-view basis.
The service is due to launch this Autumn, and rumours have already begun to suggest that a total replacement of Sky Set-Top Boxes may well be on the cards. With Xbox 360’s retailing for only slightly more than a standard Sky Set-Top Box, it’s not out of the question to suggest that both may be offered to new customers as perhaps standard and premium options, aside the current standard, Sky+ and Sky+HD boxes. Of course, it’s not too difficult to figure out the benefits for both parties should such a deal be formed.
Further adding validity to the suggestion would be the news today that one of the involved parties appears to be conducting research into that exact subject matter. Registered users at OpinionWorld, an online market research company, have recently been asked a series of questions concerning both Sky TV and the Xbox 360 in quick succession, and while this is in no way confirmation that the Xbox 360 console is intended to replace Sky Set-Top Boxes and it remains impossible to discover who OpinionWorld are conducting the research on behalf of, reading between the lines of the questions asked certainly paints a picture.
“Does you household currently subscribe to Sky TV?” Participants were asked, requiring a simple “Yes” or “No” in response, with selecting “No” presenting a question asking the user how likely they were to subscribe in the next twelve months, based on a scale of 1 to 10. A random, seemingly red herring question about visiting Denmark then followed, before the user was asked whether or not their household currently owns an Xbox 360, with again only a simple “Yes” or “No” required in response.
The two next questions certainly drum home the importance of an on-demand movie system, as of course the North American partnership with Netflix remains absent from UK Xbox 360’s. “How many DVDs have you bought in the past 6 months for at least £9.99?” With the possible answers of “1”, “2-5”, “6-10”, “11 or more” and “none” available, followed directly by a question about broadband connection speeds. “From the list below can you choose the speed that is closest to the speed of the fixed line Internet connection you have at home?” With the responses “Up to 2Mb”, “Up to 8Mb”, “Up to 10Mb”, “Up to 20Mb”, “Up to 24Mb”, “Up to 50Mb” and “Don’t know” available.
Any gamer well versed with the Xbox 360’s online potential will immediately piece together the clues laid out here, and the depths at which the entirely agreeable proposition will be marketed seem to be much greater than initially suggested by the rather subdued revelation back in late May. The Xbox 360 is quickly becoming an essential living room addition, and Electronic Theatre will be certain to keep you updated with it’s progress.
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