Microsoft continued to talk about the Xbox 360’s impending live TV functionality last week. One possibility we’ve heard is that the company will team up with cable and satellite companies to allow the system to essentially be used as a cable/set top box replacement. According to a new report, deals with Comcast and Verizon may soon be reached for just that.
Both deals could be made within the next month, reports Digiday (via Kotaku), although it’s also been told that the timing isn’t quite so definitive. Regardless, it sounds as if this could be similar to what’s already possible on an Xbox 360 for AT&T Uverse customers, though we don’t really know any of the particulars of what the Comcast and Verizon deals would entail. It seems highly likely that Kinect would be involved, as well as support for Bing and voice search.
Digiday suggested we could see deeper programming guides, Kinect support, and better targeted advertising, all of which fits in with the sort of features we’ve heard before. There’s some doubt over whether this course of action — being a substitute cable box with bonus features — is even worth it, as some might view the prospect as pointless.
