The console was the first game system to incorporate a Netflix streaming app. Now it's bringing in live TV from Verizon FiOS and the Epix movie channel to complement current offerings of ESPN and Hulu Plus. And all that content can be accessed with your voice using the Kinect motion controller.
The move by Microsoft, along with similar ones by rivals, comes as many shoppers this holiday season are looking to take their home entertainment center over the top. They've grown accustomed to watching video wherever and whenever they want on whatever device they choose. Yet they still cherish the kick-back-and-relax viewing experience provided by the old reliable home TV.
So, increasingly, viewers are incorporating Netflix and other Internet-based streaming and on-demand content providers, such as Amazon and Hulu, with current broadcast, cable and satellite services to tailor a home TV experience all their own. "What we see is people adding streaming video and maybe cutting down on the premium service, or finding some way to save some money on the pay-TV side," says Norm Bogen, analyst at market research firm In-Stat.
Just a few years ago, connecting a PC to your TV used to be the chief way to get that over-the-top experience. Now, nearly as many people use a game console as a PC to make their TVs "smart," an In-Stat survey found. "Driving it is the consumer (appetite) for a wide variety of content on demand and the availability of devices that allow them to get that content on their big-screen TV."
This holiday season could be the perfect time to bring these new services to your living room, because there are bargains to be had on Blu-ray players, streaming-media set-top boxes, smart TVs and even video game systems, such as the Xbox 360, that can be a conduit for TV, movies and other Internet content. "Price points have all come down," says Shawn DuBravac, chief economist and director of research at the Consumer Electronics Association.