14 DAY TRIAL // All the big console manufacturers have taken great strides in making their home gaming devices more interesting to wider categories of players, beyond hardcore gamers. Consoles can now play movies, act as social spaces and it seems that, soon, Microsoft might be the first to produce and deliver a television channel exclusive for the Xbox Live service.
A report offered by financial news service Bloomberg says that the software giant is currently talking to Peter Chernin, who is a former president of News Corp., about the venture.
The facts come from two people who have knowledge of the proposal. It seems that a meeting took place on April 12 at the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, with Chernin saying that increasing the subscription price for Xbox Live God account by about 1 or 2 dollars would allow for the company to deliver programming, which might be attractive to advertisers because of the demographic structure of Xbox Live, predominantly young and male.
Apparently, Chernin is interested in co-owning the new television channel with Microsoft and the initial plan is to offer both original programming and reruns of other shows. Allan Mayer, Chernin’s publicist, told Bloomberg that “Peter is talking to lots of people about lots of ideas in the digital space.” A Microsoft representative did not want to comment on the rumors. It's not clear whether the Xbox Live subscribers would actually be interested in paying more for the service only to get access to television programs.
After Conan O'Brien left NBC in the fallout of Jay Leno returning to his original programming slot, Chernin has also pitched to the comedian the idea of creating a new late night television show for the future channel that will be delivered on Xbox Live. O'Brian chose to sign a contract with basic cable channel TBS.