Could original, exclusive TV shows be coming to the 360?

by Justin Murray { Nov 8th 2006 at 2:55PM }

NBC Universal Digital Studios has entered into a deal with MSN to produce exclusive content for web distribution. Universal plans to unveil A Big Life With Sissy Biggers this fall, which will be completely exclusive to MSN and will have interactive features.

A Big Life is not exactly a program most gamers would normally watch; the show is a humorous approach to various lifestyle activities such as gardening and cooking. However, if this formatting becomes popular, production of shows friendly to traditional gamers is a reasonable assumption.

If the MSN exclusives become a hit, could we expect Microsoft to move the format to the 360 and produce exclusive HD content? Convincing studios to make 360 shows could be a powerful weapon in Microsoft's arsenal to battle the PS3. The 360 is already getting digitally distributed television shows, but would you be more willing to buy television shows and movies for your 360 if you knew that was the only place you could watch them? Word on the street is Bill Gates is planning a weekly series where he acts out scenes from your favorite games. I'd buy that.

Tags: 360, Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Phranctoast @ Nov 8th 2006 3:11PM

now if MS will pony up the cash for the halo movie..

Regula Oblique @ Nov 8th 2006 3:12PM

I doubt I would even use this service, not to speak for anyone else but there's already tivo and other methods where most people catch all their weekly shows, and I subscribe to netflix so taking 8+ hours to download a 5 gig hd movie that will only last for 24hrs once I start viewing it is out of the question.

BlindsideDork @ Nov 8th 2006 3:13PM

Who else thinks this won't happen?

You think a tv company is going to make a tv show for a video game system? Something doesn't fit right with that....I mean are you really going to pay money to have a gold membership or buy a 360 to watch a tv show? not to mention then PAY for the tv show on XBox Live.

no thanks, i don't think the show will survive if it does this direction unless it is "uber, 1ee7 good!"

Blue Spotted Frog @ Nov 8th 2006 3:20PM

It's a GAME console for cying out loud! Microsoft is just whoring out the 360 so they can soak us with microtransactions, subscription fees, downloadable content, and other "revenue streams". With all the money they are making on XBLM, why are gamers being charged $50 a year to play games online? I don't care about NBC/Universal exclusive content on the Xbox360. I don't want to be nickeled and dimed for every one of these stupid trojan horse schemes they keep laying on us. Just stick to making gaming better, Microsoft!

KineticOnline @ Nov 8th 2006 3:23PM

I think it would be great if we could subscribe for specific channels or studios. Pay a subscription for somewhere like CBS and get to download the lastest episodes the day after they are shown on the network.

Beatsta @ Nov 8th 2006 3:28PM

Why are people complaining about this? Yes the xbox 360 is a gaming machine but Your been given the choice to download this content, your not been foced to. Microsoft is concentrating making gaming better but at the same time there trying to make the 360 aqpeal to different markets. If you don't want to download exclusive hd content etc then don't it's as simple as that. I know that some people (me for example) wouldn't mind downloading HD movies and episodes to my 360; it's just even more features added onto the great gaming experience.

crono141 @ Nov 8th 2006 3:33PM

I never got my confirm e-mail, so I'll try again:

I don't like it. Part of the reason I hate Sony so much is because they want to control not only our living rooms, but be the sole source of our entertainment. They own content (movies, music), they own the machine to play the content on (blu-ray player/MD player), and with PS3, they'll own the means the content is distributed (PS3 marketplace).

MS will greatly fall out of my favor if they start pulling the same shenanigans.

Consumer Rights FTW!

crono141 @ Nov 8th 2006 3:35PM

"If you don't want to download exclusive hd content etc then don't it's as simple as that"

Thats just the thing. If I want the content, but don't want to buy a 360, there's no other way to get it. Thats "forcing me" to buy it. I can't get it on DVD, only on 360. TV shows aren't like games, where games are programmed only for certain consoles and not others, this is movies and TV, that will play on anybody's TV.

This is the same reason I'm hating on sony for PS3 and their strategy. They want to own the content, the box it plays on, and the distribution system. No good for consumers, no good at all.

BAD MS, no biscuit!

cubbiechris @ Nov 8th 2006 3:37PM

"They own content (movies, music), they own the machine to play the content on (blu-ray player/MD player), and with PS3, they'll own the means the content is distributed (PS3 marketplace)."

You as a cosumer do have a choice. Don't download content through your 360. See isn't that simple?

Madhatter @ Nov 8th 2006 3:41PM

It's an optional service. MS isn't fleecing anyone as they aren't forcing you to make that purchase decision. If anything the fact that people have been willing to pay for these services is testimony to the fact that they do have a value to some people. If all you want is gaming, that's all you'll get. For no additional fee. If you want movies, you can have that too. You just have to pay them for the service. Just like any other service on the planet.

It's like magical gnomes sneaking into our cars in the middle of the night and upgrading our stereos to recieve XM. Some people won't want to use it, and they won't have to. It would still add value to those that do want the service. All without degrading the service of those that don't.

I see nothing wrong with that (unless the @#$@ gnomes break my window to get in)

jc @ Nov 8th 2006 3:49PM

MS' WebTV didn't sell in 1996... and with 20Gig HDDs, it won't work today either.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN_TV

Alice Unchained @ Nov 8th 2006 3:52PM

why are there so many dumbasses posting here? consumer choice has NEVER been a bad thing for anybody. if you don't want the sh*t, then don't freakin download it. some of us WANT THE CHOICE. this is the evolution of technology. deal with it.

cubbiechris @ Nov 8th 2006 3:57PM

8 hours to download 5 gigs? What do you have dial-up? It'll take me around 2 hours. Beats waiting 2-3 days from netflix. Right?

crono141 @ Nov 8th 2006 3:58PM

"You as a cosumer do have a choice. Don't download content through your 360. See isn't that simple?"

Thats all well and good, until the only way to get movies produced by sony (like spiderman) is to buy it on the PS3, where they can charge you everytime you want to watch it. Remember, according to sony (hell, the mpaa), you don't have any rights to the content you buy. You are "licensing" the copy you have. Once they remove the physical disc (remember, digital distribution is the wave of the future) consumers will have absolutely no rights at all. No fair use. This is Sony's dream, and I'm disheartened that MS would follow in their dubious footsteps.

Exclusive content is just the beginning of this. Once shows and things start being made exclusively for 360 or PS3, its the beginning of the end of consumer rights. Soon, after digital distribution has hit a large percentage of homes, content once found on DVD and OTA TV will only be found exclusively on PS3 or X360, or the next console, if it takes that long.

We have this problem already. Cable vs Satellite. Cable rates are rising, up 12% since last year (at least in my state). But you can still record this content, save it off, burn it to DVD, use it in home video projects, etc. Once digital distribution is the norm, all those options will be blocked out.

Welcome to the sony and MS future, I hope you like it.

Ben @ Nov 8th 2006 4:04PM

Best move MS could make would be to add exclusive content to the 360, and then go and fund/ help fund some new Firefly episodes. People would break their necks getting a 360 so they could see new episodes of Firefly, and they could charge 10 bucks and episode. There's money in that-thar IP.

~Ben

Mr. Khan @ Nov 8th 2006 4:17PM

@ Blue Spotted Frog: I believe they still charge because despite all this pay-per-view content, they still lose quite a bit of money on live (Microsoft's Money Pit strategy to gain marketshare in effect)

@ Crono141; Microsoft already does this, rabid DRM on Windows and all that (buy Linux) Have you ever noticed that Internet Explorer 7 comes with the power to scan your PC for pirated copies of Windows Software

Microsoft's desperate effort to nickel-and-dime people with the 360 comes from their attempt to break even on LIVE, just as they sell a lot of accessories seperately to break even on Hardware losses

mykie @ Nov 8th 2006 4:18PM

Wow, such doomsday naysayers here. Hope you guys have your tinfoil hats.

This is a wonderful thing, and it follows in the footsteps of the video game industry in general.

Think about it, the only way to get Geometry Wars is to get it over Xbox Live Marketplace. You cannot get it anywhere else (save for the crappy mobile version), so therefore Microsoft is FORCING you to buy an Xbox360 to play it.

Or maybe we should all call bad on Showtime for FORCING us to have cable/satellite and a subscription to their channel in order to watch Weeds or Penn and Teller's Bullshit?

To me, I think this is perfectly kosher, and adds value and strength to the Xbox360 as a media platform.

crono141 @ Nov 8th 2006 4:46PM

Mykie, I'm pretty sure they still sell DVD's of that stuff.

And cable and satellite and fleecing the hell out of all their customers.

Mr. Kahn, I'd love to go linux, but I don't know how to use it, none of the software I want to use is on it (PC games anyone, and WINE isn't good enough yet (ever?)) and my wife would be totally lost on it.

I hate what microsoft and the content industry in general is doing, but I have no choice because idiots like mykie and Alice Unchained go along with it because its all about "choice".

Well its not about choice, its about getting dicked so Bill Gates stock can go up a quarter of a percent.

The internet was supposed to free us of this bullshit, but congress and the courts have neutered it (piracy civil suits, anyone?), and the ISPs are going to kill it (net neutrality, forget about it).

The biggest reason to pirate and hack now isn't getting free stuff, but having content with no strings attached, no bullshit hoops to jump through. I buy all my games, but one of the first things I do is go to the internet to find the NoCD/DVD crack, so I can play my games the way I want, not the way some corporate suit wants.

Its getting to the point you can't even rip a CD to your PC (for archive or playlists or whatever) without getting DRMed to death and rootkitted (SONY).

What the company's want is no less than total control of the hows (digital distribution), whens (TiVo lawsuits, anyone), where's (slingbox suits anyone?) of content you and I enjoy.

And I can't just "choose not to watch" or whatever to try and change things, because there are to many idiots out there that support whatever bullshit MS or Sony or Timewarner or showtime or whoever graciously bestows upon them, in their infinite mercy: that one or two guys standing up for our consumer rights won't make a damn bit of difference!

Austin @ Nov 8th 2006 4:49PM

This is just getting stupid. If the content is that much of a success to be "forcing people to buy a 360" any company seeking to make money (all of them) would go for the broadest distribution strategy before the end of the life-cycle. If a show is a success with a limited viewing audience like the 360 my guess is you will see in online and on DVD.

360 content sales will become very predictable very fast having a short life-cycle.

epobirs @ Nov 8th 2006 5:20PM

Actually Crono, there is no difference at all between games and movies when it comes to content being exclusive to a platform. In fact, it's already a constant.

If you want to watch 'Lost,' you can only (legally) do so under the conditions ABC dictates. It's their content, they financed its creation, and they get to decide how it's sold. If, for some reason, you'd rather patronize CBS, you'll have to do without 'Lost.'

If you want to watch 'Dexter,' you'll have to be a Showtime subscriber or wait for the DVDs to appear at a much later date. Likewise for 'The Sopranos' on HBO.

And in the fashion of popular TV series, there is nothing to prevent this Xbox 360 exclusive content from eventually appearing on DVD or newer formats. Just as with broadcast TV shows, the exclusive venue enjoys the value of having the first ad second run rights.

Microsoft has done more than offer an HDTV capable video game system. They've created the base for a general purpose HD content delivery system. The content can interactive (games) or passive (movies and episodic shows) but the important part is having a box that can be made to do whatever is needed, either just by software or USB peripherals.

Remember when the SciFi Channel pulled the plug on Farscape? A lot of very dedicated fans were quite upset and there was talk of new financing models for shows where individual fans could put up, say, a buck each for each episode. If a show had ten million fans willing to pay that amount globally, that would allow for a pretty expensive show. (E.R. epsiodes were running around $13 million per for a while but the biggest portion of that was actors' salaries, which easily outpaced the cost of an effects heavy show with relatively inexpensive actors.) There have been similar proposals with other shows that had a dedicated fan base that lacked sufficient density in any major region to deliver the needed ad revenue.

The difficulty there was having a way to collect the payments and make good on delivery. Xbox Live can handle both of those issues. Shows can easily be pre-subscribed with Marketplae points and anyone who is an Xbox Live subscriber is already equipped with the broadband connection needed to receive the show and the Xbox 360 to get it on his display.

There can be incentives for subscribing, such as massively discounted HD-DVD sets of the content once a season is completed.

This raises a lot of possibilities for the creation of content that responds very directly to its fan base rather than vaguely grasping for a demographic. Instead of a Halo movie, perhaps the novels should be adapted as a series of episodes forming a mega-movie package at their conclusion.

What favorite TV that failed in mainstream ratings would you have purchased on a per episode basis?

Andrew @ Nov 8th 2006 6:09PM

I'd only get it if it were free. Mix in some ads with these shows (that's why Microsoft bought an ad agency, right?) and just distribute them free. That'd be huge.

Also, can NBC put Heroes on the XBox? I'd dig that.

yellowoystercult @ Nov 8th 2006 6:49PM

This is an excellent idea, and even if it doesn't work, it's a step in the right direction.

BlindsideDork @ Nov 8th 2006 8:19PM

#8 crono...

"BAD MS, no biscuit!"

hahaha, perhaps one of the funniest things i heard!

ZeroCorpse @ Nov 8th 2006 11:12PM

@ BlindsideDork:

You don't need to pay for a gold membership to download ANYTHING on Xbox Live. Not TV shows, not movies, not XBLA games, not demos, not exclusive content, not patches-- NOT A DAMN THING.

Before you go off on a rant about how expensive it will be, perhaps you should do a bit more research.

crono141 @ Nov 9th 2006 7:50AM

epobirs, I agree partially.

Sure you had to watch ABC, but ABC came to your home free of charge, over the air where anyone could grab it. What I'm talking about isn't the now, but the 5 to 10 years from now.

Trust me, this will start out looking like a good thing, but it'll only get crappier as time goes by.

Chris Ayers @ Nov 13th 2006 10:21PM

I own [as most people do, a PS2...... but if i bought a next gen system....... i would buy the xbox 360.... i mean all 3 systems are good....... but come on..... the price is so high!!!!!!!!!!! i mean OMG!!!!

Dena @ Nov 13th 2006 11:58PM

This is Microsoft's gimmick to sell the new HD-DVD drive, that's all. It's stupid since it already takes forever to download 300+ megs, imagine 5 gigs? Besides, most gamers want to GAME not watch movies and tv. If they really want to do that, they'll buy a dvd that they don't have to wait forever to download, and I highly doubt the price to download this "movie"/show will be any cheaper than the cost of a dvd.

Dena @ Nov 13th 2006 11:58PM

Beatsta, people are complaining because INSTEAD of focusing on improving gaming, they're focusing on adding "other" forms of media. No, they really aren't improving gaming that much, it's the software/game designers that are doing that, not specifically Microsoft. Instead of making some type of additional component to improve gaming, they instead try to whore the HD-DVD drive, a blatant attempt to rival PS3's blu-ray drive. That's honestly all this really is.