Rumor: Xbox LIVE Diamond TV service to be announced at E3

by Ben Gilbert on Jun 5th 2011 1:40PM

With E3 set to kick off in less than 48 hours, rumors are once again flying about Microsoft's press conference news. A report at WinRumors pins Microsoft as revealing an Xbox Live-based streaming television service in the US, previously rumored to be codenamed "Orapa" (after a diamond mining town in Botswana, Africa). Further, the report suggests that the codename has been changed into something more fitting, given its eponymy: "Diamond." And no, not that Microsoft product named Diamond.

"Microsoft is currently in last minute negotiations to secure the necessary agreements in time," WinRumors' anonymous source added. The source details "Diamond" as a facsimile of the UK's SkyTV player currently offered on Xbox 360, though no specific networks are named, and adds that the service will likely come with a monthly subscription fee.

Microsoft previously indicated its intentions to get into streaming television on the Xbox 360, but has never made any major moves. The company flirted with a Conan O'Brien deal in 2010, but the plans eventually fizzled. If "Diamond" really does exist, though, we're sure to hear about it tomorrow morning during Microsoft's E3 2011 presser.

Source: WinRumors

Tags: diamond, microsoft, orapa, streaming-television, television, xbox, xbox-live, xbox-live-diamond, xbox-live-tv

Reader Comments (124)

I highly doubt that "Diamond" is the name of the service. Isn't it more likely that it is an additional level of Xbox LIVE subscription that simply allows you access to the IPTV service?

Diamond>Gold>Silver

Makes sense to me. Hopefully the actual service gets a better name. Perhaps that is where the "Fusion" branding is heading?

@GB330033 Good thing I saved my Xbox Diamond Club Card :)

@GB330033

wouldn't it be Platinum > Gold > Silver, though?

@GB330033

I personally preferred Silver over Gold, The selection of exclusive pokemon was just better.

Diamond wasn't even in that generation. Get your facts straight.

@Alexisonfire Truly Alex is on fire

@bxgt

i think its Alexis on Fire... awesome band

@PR0F3TA Or maybe it's Airline Foxes, scrambled?

@GB330033 Diamond already existed. It was a free service for Xbox live gold members that allowed them to get money off on stuff. Like when they had 70% off a cruise ship for a while. I still have my old card they send you.

@GB330033 if this is going to be anything like sky player then it is the most pointless thing ever. For sky player you need a sky player subscription, which is £10 extra a month. Then for Xbox 360 you need to be a gold member, sorry but Gold member for something that I can use for no additional cost on my pc and link it to my tv with a DVI cable, is not for me and isn't anything to get excited about.

LoveFilm, our version of Netflix, is not on Xbox 360 for the reason that MS would want access exclusively to Gold members. That's why it is only on Wii and PS3

@evilkoala
I totally forgot about th Diamond card. I barely got to use it.

When it's this close to E3, I'd prefer they hold off the rumors until we hear it from the horse's mouth. It kinda takes the enjoyment out of hearing about all the great things from the announcements.

That said, this rumor isn't all that interesting, so it doesn't count.

@krisr2005

Everything should be free!

In your face, swooded!

@A Sandwich: Past tense references and post date and time ruin you, my friend.

Inb4 "Everything should be free"

@swooded Whats next? "TEH CONSOLE SHUD BE FREE I ALR3ADY LEET HAX PIRATE ALL MY GA3MES!"

@AFATALERR0R
No, Every time you take a breath Microsoft charges you a penny.

@teeftwo

Bobby Kotick*

LOL @ "KnifefightYadDad"

Wish I could come up with an awesome gamertag.

Damn, really need that edit button

* "KnifeFightYaDad"

All they need is an external CableCard TV tuner and Windows Media Center Embedded, then the 360 would be the greatest console ever.

@Mr Hett

I'm fairly sure the xbox does support media center already. I don't ever use it, but i'm pretty sure it's there.

@Aesir Renegade

WMC extender requires you to have a PC that is on your network and is always on. WMC embedded is installed on the actual device, meaning all you need is your Xbox.

@Mr Hett

I know right, I was so pissed when "lolz_imhigh", "Mast3R*Chiefer", "420420420", were all taken.

Netflix, Hulu, and now "Diamond"? Oh Cablevision is going to be heated. They better not try and go back to charging for how long you use the Internet like back in the 56k days or MS will just have to start providing broadband as well!

Why would I turn on my xbox to watch TV, if I watch TV I'll turn on my TV. Same pointless crap as ESPN on Xbox. Why would I bother to turn it on when it's already on my TV

@The Cole Train I know it's a hard concept to wrap your head around, but the idea of paying under $10 a month for on-demand television instead of $50+ is very appealing to people.

@The Cole Train
I'll make this easy for you. You have an Internet bill, and a cable bill. Or if you're TW customer you may have the Phone line triple play which knocks off money of the other two. Now imagine your bill if the cable box and worthless phone line was gone, and you had access to the same channels through the Live interface which is powered by your one Internet bill.

Get it now?

@onan But isn't there already Hulu on Xbox? I don't see how this is vastly different than Hulu/Netflix.

@The Cole Train

SPORTS, YOU DOLT!

@The Cole Train
Subtract Ads and hopefully add in more selection
??????
Profit

@The Cole Train

Shame it doesn't benefit EU people :/

Ah well, Sky will have to do.

@The Cole Train

I use ESPN on xbox during football/basketball season because a lot of times it has games that aren't available unless I subscribe to a extended sports package through cable. It's also good to get updated sports news on and it makes a good PIP.

@Spunky Monkey 190906 I'm from the US so I'm not completely sure, but isn't SkyTV basically everything a European would need from TV anyway?

@Assmar

http://video.adultswim.com/tim-and-eric-awesome-show-great-job/sports.html

@The Cole Train
You're not a Train at all

@JumboShrimp
Rugby and Aussie Rules Football are pretty damn awesome. Now, if only ESPN3 could only afford better production quality than a high school broadcast crew. Seriously.

They seemingly just play a tape in its entirety, the guys messing up and taking their line again. It's quite possibly the greatest thing ever.

Alan wake background ftw

@Ricenchicken Hell ya. That's the background I use. Never change it because the theme is so great!

I hope its true so I can drop Comcast and save the 80 a month I pay for that all they need to do now is offer internet access to save me even more

@xXNoiZXx

I know, Comcast is so fricken expensive! I wish they'd just let you get Internet, that's all I need. Then again though, I think I'd miss BBC America and the History Channel too much to lose cable. Ok then, they need to just make it cheaper.

@xXNoiZXx Virtually all of your cable bill goes to the content providers, not to Comcast. The content providers aren't going to sell the same content cheaper through Microsoft than through a cable provider.

So the only way you are going to significantly reduce your bill for TV content is to stop paying for the content and do without (or steal it, others do). MS (nor Sony, nor Nintendo, Apple, anyone) is going to give you that magic bullet.

@Doctor Who Let you get internet? I'm not quite sure what you mean by "let you". YOU'RE the customer, you decide what you want. I have Comcast internet without anything else, and I didn't have to find some super secret loop hole or sign a pact with Satan to get it.

@NewEraBlood They charge you more for internet if you don't subscribe to TV.

@Kodros The 10 or 20 savings isn't worth the extra 50+ on your bill every month.

I remember reading like last year that there is suppose to be another tier added to XBL. It's suppose to have online storage and stuff like that.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

I wish Joystiq would run an experiment, where they would post the story, but for the first 5 minutes they'd change the words "Microsoft" to "Sony." Ezio could still rush in to get the first comment, but I wonder if the content of his remarks would change. :)

I cut off my cable TV 18 months ago, so I am always on the lookout for less expensive, more flexible services for getting live TV. But so far, every one of these services (including Microsoft's ESPN3 integration) has been very disappointing, so I'm not getting my hopes up.

Doesn't E3 start tomorrow and not 48 hours?

@HokieKC

No, E3 officially starts the 7th. But most of the companies tend to have their press conferences before the official day.

@Neptune - A lot of gaming sites have E3 starting in 22 hours. I guess a lot of people include the game developers conferences as part of E3...or at least the start of it.

@HokieKC

Yep, tomorrow is the day when the news start pouring in. The main event is mainly for hands on and such.

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Rumor: Xbox LIVE Diamond TV service to be announced at E3

Reader Comments (124)

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:46PM GB330033 said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:35PM evilkoala said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:47PM Liquidfingers said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 3:00PM Alexisonfire said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 4:12PM bxgt said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 4:18PM PR0F3TA said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 6:07PM imadogg said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 9:48PM KNDReaper said

Posted: Jun 6th 2011 3:51AM Deathmore said

Posted: Jun 6th 2011 11:29AM Duke said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:48PM krisr2005 said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 5:11PM A Sandwich said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 6:12PM MGTrey said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:51PM swooded said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 8:33PM AFATALERR0R said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 9:47PM teeftwo said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 10:04PM ComedyInK said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:52PM Mr Hett said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:53PM Mr Hett said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:02PM Mr Hett said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:36PM Aesir Renegade said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:44PM Mr Hett said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 4:44PM Deone said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:53PM PANdaRUS said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:54PM The Cole Train said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:07PM onan said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:21PM LinkRazr said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:36PM The Cole Train said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:43PM Assmar said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:43PM Cap Morgan said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 5:20PM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 6:42PM JumboShrimp said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 6:48PM NewEraBlood said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 8:47PM MarkezJM said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 11:27PM GamingColt said

Posted: Jun 6th 2011 10:04AM ytilanigiroon said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:56PM Ricenchicken said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:15PM evilkoala said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:57PM xXNoiZXx said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 3:54PM Doctor Who said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 6:14PM spin cycle said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 7:00PM NewEraBlood said

Posted: Jun 6th 2011 12:36AM Kodros said

Posted: Jun 9th 2011 1:22PM NewEraBlood said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:58PM totalysharly said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 1:58PM copa said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:00PM HokieKC said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:12PM Neptune said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:21PM HokieKC said

Posted: Jun 5th 2011 2:59PM Neptune said

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