Neowin member Liam has tipped us off to some big news for those waiting on the Sky TV announcements for Xbox 360.
According to Liam, over at https://xbox.sky.com there"s a bunch of XML data which feeds the Sky Player application. Currently it"s providing data for Live TV channels that are available. The following channels will be available:
- G.O.L.D
- Sky Real Lives
- Sky Arts 1
- Sky Movies 1 & 2
- Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and Xtra
- Sky Sports News
- British Eurosport
- ESPN
- ESPN Classic
- Sky News
- National Geographic
- National Geographic Wild
- History
- Eden
- Cartoon Network
- Boomerang
- Disney Channel
Sky 1 is missing from the Live channel list but under "TV on demand" Sky 1, Baby TV and Biography are listed. Some of the help text describes the new features well:
Watch thousands of hours of TV programmes and movies on demand. There"s catch-up TV from Sky1 and a great selection from National Geographic Channel, History and others. Plus over 500 great movies, from indies to blockbusters, courtesy of Sky Movies and Sky Box Office. If you"re a Sky digital satellite customer you can watch programmes from channels in your TV package for free. For example, if you"re a Sky1 subscriber, Sky1"s top shows are available to watch online for free for 30 days after they first aired. Plus you can choose from a great catalogue of programmes to rent or buy, all within Sky Player on your Xbox 360.
Non Sky Customers
If you"re not a Sky customer you can watch Sky TV programmes without a dish or long term contract. With a monthly subscription you can watch selected channels live on your Xbox 360 plus a selection of programmes to watch on demand. Minimum contract term of just one month applies and you can rent or buy single episodes with no commitment.
Cost
Even if you are not a Sky digital customer, you can now subscribe to Sky Player TV from £15/€18 a month for the Entertainment Pack. This includes the live broadcast of over 20 channels including National Geographic, ESPN Classic, G.O.L.D. and Disney Channel. You are also entitled to the free content available from these channels. You can also choose to upgrade this package to include Sky"s premium channels Sky Movies and Sky Sports, making a total of 21 live channels for your delectation. If you subscribe to Sky Multiroom account then you can watch all the live channels in your pack on your Xbox 360, at no extra cost! Sky Multiroom or Sky Broadband Unlimited customers can also watch Live TV on their Xbox 360"s at no extra charge. All other Sky TV customers can subscribe to watch Live TV on Sky Player for £9.75/€14.75 a month.
Sky originally announced the Sky Player back in May this year, it"s currently planning to launch the player later this month.