Will the Xbox One play nice with UK TV?

The Xbox One impressed us with its deep live TV channel integration during its debut earlier this week, and its voice control abilities(courtesy of the new and improved Kinect) left our geek senses tingling.

Since then however, non-US gamers have been disappointed with the news that only those in the land of stars and stripes will be enjoying the full benefits of the Xbox One live TV service.

We reached out to Sky, Virgin and YouView to see if they could shed any light on when or if the Xbox One would support their services, and how soon after launch we can expect to see switches being flicked.

YouView confirmed that it “doesn’t have any plans to support Xbox One at the moment”, suggesting that viewers could be in for a potentially indefinite wait to see its service play nice with the Xbox One.

Sky shows the most promise, since its Sky Go service already features on the Xbox 360 – we’d expect it to be one of the first UK providers to land on the Xbox One after it’s expected November 30th release date.

When asked about its support for the Xbox One, Sky responded by stating that “We enjoy a long track-record of innovating with Microsoft on the Xbox platform and will explore any future opportunities offered by Xbox One.”

Virgin Media – whose TV Anywhere service isn’t currently supported by the Xbox 360 – responded by saying that it has “a great relationship with Microsoft and [is] always looking at news ways to enhance our products and services such as Virgin TV Anywhere.”

Neither response sheds much light on whether or not work has started (or will start) on Xbox One Live TV support. But it’s not ambitious to assume that Microsoft is working closely with all major UK TV providers. We can but hope.

Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.