BBC, LoveFilm, 4oD, VEVO, Blinkbox and more coming to Xbox 360

BBC, LoveFilm and 4oD have been confirmed for Xbox 360.

Rumoured last week, Microsoft has revealed a host of new television streaming partners for the UK, US, Canada and Europe.

In the UK, services including BBC programmes, 4oD, Channel 5 and LoveFilm will be available over Xbox Live, some of which will be free for all account holders.

Other services coming to the UK include Blinkbox, AlloCine, Crackle, MSN with MSNBC.com, MUZU.TV and VEVO.

Other significant additions worldwide include Canal+ for France and Spain, and Comcast, Verizon, Syfy, TMZ and HBO GO for the US.



"Today's announcement is a major step toward realising our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy," said president of interactive entertainment business Don Mattrick.

"Combining the world's leading TV and entertainment providers with the power of Kinect for Xbox 360* and the intelligence of Bing voice search will make TV and entertainment more personal, social and effortless."

Head of 4oD Sarah Milton said: "Continuing our strategy of making content available, on demand, where our viewers most want to watch it, we're delighted to be able to offer 4oD on Xbox 360 - Britain's best-selling console in 2011".

LoveFilm CEO Simon Calver added: "This is an exciting and important deal for our customers and is the next move in LOVEFiLM's strategy of helping as many homes as possible connect to our service.

"We want to be the first choice for UK and German customers to get the best entertainment. Xbox LIVE already has a large consumer base of all ages - all of whom will now be able to connect with our great content, whether TV series, exclusive digital films or DVDs, Blu-rays and games by post, all for one simple price."


Certain services, such as LoveFilm, will make use of Kinect, with hands-free gestures to navigate menus and voice commands for playback options as well as searching for programmes.

New entertainment channels will roll out to regions before Christmas, with speculation that services will go live from the rumoured November 15 dashboard update.

View Microsoft's new entertainment services in full:

• 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.