Xbox One: Microsoft Partners With Sky For TV

Microsoft is partnering with Sky to bring TV subscriptions to Xbox One.

One thing we heard a lot at the Xbox One reveal this week was plans to make the console a TV streaming device, and, up until now, we didn’t know how that was going to happen. Apparently at the time, neither did Microsoft.

It’s looking like Microsoft announced a lot of things they weren’t sure about. We are literally waiting until E3 2013 to get everything confirmed again because a lot of deal-breaking rumors were left in a sea of confusion.

One of the details has been confirmed now, three days after the reveal where we expected it. Of course, this is a UK TV channel they’ve confirmed, so, unless they’re planning to move across the pond, US audiences still don’t have anything really confirmed.

After a day of saying they would partner with American sports leagues such as the NFL, ESPN, and basketball, this is what Microsoft’s Phil Spencer had to say:

“We have partnerships with Sky, with Canal+ in France, and we’ll continue to grow our international expansion. We’ll put a worldwide face on the platform because Europe, in particular, is especially important to us this generation.”

So we guess Phil Spencer has already noticed that America is quickly abandoning their Xbox One hopes and betting on something not made by Microsoft. That or the Windows 8 developers don’t communicate much before they speak with the press.

In a truly facepalm inducing moment, Phil Spencer continued by saying he wants “the world” to watch TV through the Xbox One. So does this include America? His statement seems to specify that Microsoft is aiming primarily for a European audience.

Does this mean that Microsoft partnered with the NFL and several other US sports organizations for no reason at all? If so, we think they focused on the wrong kind of football when they made a deal with the NFL.

What do you think of Microsoft’s statement about focusing on European TV for Xbox One?