Time Warner Cable customers can now watch live television using their Xbox 360 as a cable box. In a landmark deal announcement made on Friday, Microsoft announced its partnership with the popular cable company.
Because of the deal, Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to download an application and have access to up to 300 of the most popular live TV channels right on their console.
The app, which is expected to launch later in the summer, is nearly identical to the app Time Warner Cable already offers customers on the Roku box that came out earlier this year. Users only need to sign into the box with their TWC login details and they can instantly enjoy live TV from networks like CNN, Comedy Central and AMC, according to Mashable.
One of the biggest draws of Microsoft's next generation console, the Xbox One, is its ability to seamlessly access live TV through the owner's cable box. This will allow side-by-side access to game play and live TV for all Xbox One users. However, that draw seems less and less appealing as the new Time Warner Cable app lets users connect to live TV without the hassle of a cable box at all.
Comcast Xfinity and Verizon FiOS TV subscribers already have access to select content on the Xbox 360, but the addition of Time Warner Cable to the Microsoft Xbox 360 marketplace marks the biggest live TV deal for the Xbox to date.
More and more cable companies are already offering more access to live streaming content on devices rather than go through the hassle of acquiring a cable box. This will make it easier for households with limited space to run a cable wire to have rooms with cable access as long as they have a television set and an Internet connection.
