Owners of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console will soon be able to watch science fiction epics as well as play them.
Microsoft said tonight that it would offer movies and episodes of television shows for download through its Xbox Live online service in the United States, beginning Nov. 22.
With the new offerings, Microsoft is joining cable giants and Internet startups on the long list of companies hoping to profit from video downloads. But Internet-based services have had trouble getting traction because it can be complex to send a downloaded film to a television screen, and frustrating to watch it on the small screen of a computer. Owners of the Xbox have already connected it to a TV and, in most cases, the Internet.
“What makes this big is that there’s no PC in the middle,” said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.
Microsoft has negotiated the rights to rent or sell more than 1,000 hours of material from CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Turner Broadcasting, along with the martial arts show “Ultimate Fighting Championship.” Some programs will be available in high-definition video.
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