SBS and ABC to offer content on Xbox Live

Thursday 06 Oct 2011
Australian public broadcasters SBS and ABC have teamed up with Microsoft to offer their content on the popular Xbox Live platform, Inside Film reports.

SBS’ new video-on-demand service, which was launched on 1 September, will be available to Xbox LIVE subscribers in the “coming months”, offering more than 90 percent of primetime programming that appears on both SBS One and SBS Two.

Microsoft Australia Consumer Channels Group Director, David McLean, said the multicultural broadcaster had a diverse catalogue of content which would prove popular on the Xbox Live platform.

SBS’ managing director Michael Ebeid added via a statement: “SBS is committed to ensuring our audiences can access our content across a range of platforms”.

ABC’s iView, which gets about 5.7 million video plays per month on various platforms, is also set to launch on Xbox LIVE, which will include new dramas, documentaries and summer specials. iView currently has about 800 full episodes, close to 220 different series and about 350 hours of content available.

ABC TV’s iView and Internet Broadcasting Manager, Sally O’Donoghue, said in a statement: “Voice and gesture control via Microsoft Xbox Kinect can make browsing and discovering content on ABC iView even more engaging and interactive, and will prove particularly appealing to younger audiences.”

Both SBS On Demand and ABC’s iView will join FoxTel’s successful live-streamed and catchup TV channels, which launched on the Xbox 360 last November. The content is available without installation and a long-term contract.