Watch FOXTEL on your XBOX!

[Des]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/ ... 5869213408

AUSTRALIANS will be able to watch Foxtel programs through the internet on an XBox 360 console from the end of the year.

Foxtel and Microsoft announced on Thursday they had joined together for the digital initiative called FOXTEL by Xbox LIVE.

Viewers will be able to get access to content from about 30 channels such as FOX Sports, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Disney and MTV, and video on demand including TV shows and movies.

Foxtel CEO Kim Williams said details on price, programming and service packages would be announced in the coming months, but added it would be "magnificently affordable".

But Mr Williams did say that NRL and AFL games wouldn't be part of the initial service given those rights had already been sold.

It will be available through all internet service providers.

Existing Foxtel customers won't have to pay for the service, but will have to subscribe to the Gold XBox live service, which is about $8 month.

Launching the initiative in Sydney, Mr Williams said he believed partnerships were the way of the future of the digital age and would expose the company to new markets.

"It enables us to present Foxtel to a whole new set of markets in a way which is very different in terms of cost and packaging," Williams said.

David McLean, head of entertainment and devices for Microsoft Australia, said friends in different cities would be able to watch the same program and interact with each other through the XBox.

He said the company was thrilled to partner with Foxtel.

"I think we have got the big dog in the room," McLean said.

Foxtel is the third major broadcaster in the world to join with XBox 360 following in the footsteps of BSkyB in the UK and CANAL+ in France.

The service however won't be available to all Australians, only those in Foxtel areas with a broadband connection.

Those areas are: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Central Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and all of Western Australia.