HBO Now costs $14.99 a month and allows you to stream all of HBO�s content. No cable or satellite TV package is required.

The expansion of the streaming service comes as HBO is offering a **free weekend** on viewing to coincide with the new season of �Game of Thrones,� which starts Sunday night.

This is the first gaming console to take on Sling, as the company has already locked up support with Google Chromecast, Roku, Amazone Fire, Android, iOs and Android.

Dish didn�t break out subscriber numbers for Sling in its Q3 report this week, but with the increased support, those numbers will probably improve. Earlier this week, an analyst figured Dish added around 24,000 Sling customers this quarter.

Sling is available in a variety of packages, the core costs $20 a month.

Windows Central **first reported the news** on Monday (August 17), noting that Microsoft informed Xbox 360 console owners via a message that the app would be removed on September 1.

Following a question about the decision by Windows Central�s John Callaham, the Comcast Cares Twitter handle **responded t**hat the app was being removed �to make way for new updates and improvements to our online experience for customers.�

It�s not clear if or when an Xfinity app will return to the Xbox 360, but Comcast pointed out that, even after the app sunsets, credentialed customers will still have access to on-demand TV Everywhere content from 20 programming networks via the Xbox 360.

Comcast�s Xbox 360 app, **launched in March 2012**, drew the ire of Netflix, which held that the app violated network neutrality rules at the time because it did not count against a customer�s high-speed Internet data cap (Comcast continues to **test a usage-based data policy in select markets**).

Comcast **countered** then that the app did not violate the FCC�s rules at the time because VOD content was being delivered via a separately provisioned and managed IP connection, and not delivered �over-the-top� via a customer�s public Internet high-speed Internet connection. The Xfinity TV On Demand app, Comcast said then, �essentially acts as an additional cable box for your existing cable service� and is therefore governed under Title VI of the Communications Act. That managed IP video approach, which Comcast uses today for its in-home Xfinity TV app for mobile devices and will also soon use for the in-home delivery of its **coming �Stream� skinny-bundle service**, is somewhat akin to the way AT&T delivers its separately-managed U-verse IPTV service.

Comcast, meanwhile, has been **pushing hard on the deployment of its own IP-capable video platform, X1,** and is now deploying about 30,000 X1 boxes per day.

In addition to its VOD database, Xbox One app users can access four live streaming channels, Epix, Epix 2, Epix 3, and Epix Drive In. XBOX first offered the Epix app in December 2011.

The app enables Epix to furnish VOD across different platforms, and all together Epix possess apps for:

• Xbox One
• Xbox 360
• iPad
• iPhone
• Android
• Fire phone
• Kindle fire
• PS3 & 4
• Windows 8
• ChromecastRoku

MSOs offer Epix at different rates and in different capacities. Some provide the option to order Epix separately for a minimal fee ($5, $8), some include it in a subscription, whereas others require consumers to add the feature to a pre-existing subscription.

Epix is available through a handful of pay TV providers including:

• AT&T U-Verse
• Bright House Networks
• Charter
• Cox Communications
• Dish
• EPB Fiber Optics
• Hawaiian Telecom
• Home Telecom
• Mediacom
• North State
• TWC
• Verizon FiOS
• Insight and NCTC providers

At the same time the over-the-top (OTT) service said it will expand its core package by the end of March with A&E, History, H2 and Lifetime, all A+E Networks. The core package will remain at $20.

Sling TV, had previously been available through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick; current-generation Roku players and Roku TV models; Android and iOS devices; and Macs and PCs.

Current Xbox Live members who have an Xbox One can get one month of Sling TV free, after downloading the Sling TV app from the Xbox One Apps Store. Additionally, the first five thousand customers who purchase an Xbox One in a Microsoft retail store or at MicrosoftStore.com between March 17, 2015 and March 22, 2015 will receive three free months of Sling TV service.

�Sling TV and Xbox are a natural pairing; two out of three millennials think of themselves as gamers, while nearly nine out of 10 watch live sports on TV,� said Roger Lynch, CEO of Sling TV. �Today�s Xbox One customers have been some of the most passionate about Sling TV since the beginning, and now we�re pleased to bring them live TV on their favorite gaming console.�

Not only will Sling TV add four A+E channels to its core package, the company is also offering two new add-on packs, �Lifestyle Extra� and �World News Extra,� each priced at an additional $5 per month.

�After only six weeks in market, we�re working towards nearly doubling the size of our �Best of Live TV� core package while preserving our attractive $20 price point,� said Roger Lynch, CEO of Sling TV. �With the upcoming arrival of A+E Networks� highly-rated content, Sling TV will soon include 20 networks for just $20 per month.�

The �Lifestyle Extra� tier includes truTV, Cooking Channel, DIY and WE tv, with A+E Networks� FYI and LMN coming soon, while the �World News Extra� features Bloomberg TV, HLN, Euro News, France 24, NDTV 24/7, News 18 and Russia Today.

The television streaming feature will debut in regions that can use Microsoft�s recently announced digital TV tuner for the Xbox One; the company introduced the small tuner last week in Europe for around $40. That TV signal from the tuner will then be viewable over a home Wi-Fi network on various devices using Microsoft�s companion app, the company says:

�Launching first in markets receiving the Xbox Digital TV Tuner, Xbox One owners will be able to stream their TV across their home network to their smartphones and tablets using the Xbox SmartGlass app. They can also pause, play and rewind as well as change channels, without interrupting gameplay on the Xbox One. This will work for SmartGlass apps on Windows, iOS, and Android.�

Being in the U.S. I won�t likely see this functionality for a while; besides, some cable providers already offer live content streaming through tablet or phone apps today: I use the Verizon FiOS Mobile which provides access to dozens of channels in real-time on iOS and Android devices. I love the idea here, however, as it extends Microsoft�s Xbox One into a command center of sorts for the living room and your mobile devices.

The device will be available in France, Italy, Germany and Spain for �30 as well as in the U.K. for ?25 (which is about $40 and $42, respectively) in late October. Xbox One owners will be able to plug it into one of the console�s USB ports, and will then have access to live TV through the game console, including OneGuide TV listings, the ability to pause live TV or change channels with voice commands plus a �snap mode� for TV viewing to also access apps at the same time.

This is basically the same set of features that has been available to U.S. Xbox One users that connect their cable box to the game console, but with the notable difference that European users won�t have to pay for cable.

So when is Microsoft going to make a similar tuner available to U.S.-based cord cutters? Apparently not any time soon. I asked a Microsoft spokesperson about plans to bring a version of the tuner stateside, and got this reply:

�Over-the-air television reception varies region to region. A good experience may rely on antennas that not all households have. Consequently, it is more difficult to provide an out-of-the-box consumer solution for over-the-air TV in the U.S. compared to other markets around the world. We will continue to evaluate new technologies and future opportunities to bring over-the-air digital TV to Xbox One in other markets.�

[…]

With an update to the platform, the Xbox team is bringing online a new optimized-for-TV Twitter app, as well as apps from Vine, HBO GO, ShowTime Anytime, Comedy Central, and Major League Gaming (MLG), among others. That will increase the number of apps on Xbox 360 and Xbox One by about 25 percent to 225 apps.

For Microsoft, the new content is aimed at keeping users more engaged, even when they�re not playing games on the platform. It�s also designed to help make the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One the main input for most streaming video viewers.

A full list of the new apps being added (as well as the geographies they are launching in) is available below:

• Antena 3. Xbox One: ES
• ChiliTV. Xbox One: IT
• Comedy Central. Xbox One: US
• Crunchyroll. Xbox One: AU, AT, BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IE, IT, MX, NZ, UK, US
• ENCORE Play. Xbox One: US
• EPIX. Xbox One: US
• Filmbox Live. Xbox 360: AR, AU, AT, BE, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DK, FI, FR, DE, GR, HK, HU, IN, IE, IL, IT, JP, MX, NL, NZ, NO, PL, PT, RU, SA, SG, SK, ZA, KR, ES, SE, CH, TW, TR, AE, UK, US
• Fox Play. Xbox One: MX, BR. Xbox 360: MX, BR, AR, CO, CH
• Frightflix. Xbox One: US
• FXNOW. Xbox 360: US
• Gol TV. Xbox One: ES
• GoPro. Xbox One: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, AU, BR, AT, NZ, IR
• HBO GO. Xbox One: US: Xbox 360: MX, BR, AR, CO, CH
• iHeartRadio. Xbox One: US
• Infinity. Xbox One: IT
• IVI. Xbox 360: RU
• KDrama. Xbox One: AU, AT, BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IE, IT, MX, NZ, UK, US. Xbox 360: AR, AU, AT, BE, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DK, FI, FR, DE, GR, HK, HU, IN, IE, IL, IT, MX, NL, NZ, NO, PL, PT, RU, SA, SG, SK, ZA, ES, SE, CH, TW, TR, AE, UK, US
• maxdome. Xbox One: AT, DE
• MLG. Xbox One: US, UK, CA, AU
• MOVIEPLEX Play. Xbox One: US
• MTV. Xbox One: US
• NBA. Xbox One: AT, AU, BR, CA, FR, DE, IE, IT, MX, ES, NZ, UK, US
• NHL. Xbox One: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, AU, BR, AT, NZ, IR. Xbox 360: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, JP, AU, BR, NL, SE, RU, TW, PL, IN, HK, TR, BE, AT, NZ, SA, AR, NO, CH, SG, ZA, IR, DK, CO, CL, FI, CZ, HU, IL, GR, PT, SK
• Now TV. Xbox One: UK
• Picturebox. Xbox 360: UK
• Popcornflix. Xbox One: US
• ShowTime Anytime. Xbox 360: US
• Sky News. Xbox One: UK, IE, US, CA. Xbox 360: UK, IE, US, CA
• Sky Online. Xbox One: IT
• STARZ Play. Xbox One: US
• STV. Xbox 360: UK
• Syfy Now. Xbox One: US
• Target Ticket. Xbox One: US
• TuneIn. Xbox One: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, AU, BR, AT, NZ, IR
• TV2. Xbox 360: DK
• Twitter. Xbox One: US
• USA Now. Xbox One: US
• VEO. Xbox One: MX. Xbox 360: MX
• Vevo. Xbox One: CA, US, AU, FR, DE, IR, BR,ES, IT, UK, NZ
• VH1. Xbox One: US
• Vine. Xbox One: US
• WATCH ABC. Xbox 360: US
• WATCH Disney Channel. Xbox 360: US
• WATCH Disney Junior. Xbox 360: US
• WATCH Disney XD. Xbox 360: US
• Watchever. Xbox One: DE