Microsoft bringing ESPN to Xbox Live?

by Stevie Smith - Jan 19 2010, 06:42

Clearly keen to hold its Xbox 360 videogame platform aloft as a genuine multimedia hub, American software giant Microsoft is reportedly in talks with ESPN regarding the possibility of streaming live sporting events through the home console’s Xbox Live online service. 

According to an article appearing in The New York Times, Microsoft and ESPN are working on a possible sport-specific content delivery system that would involve a per-subscriber access fee, similar to the payment structure already used by the existing ESPN 360 service.

Citing people supposedly close to the talks, the NYT report also claims that any such deal could involve Microsoft partnering with ESPN to create a line of interactive videogame titles for the Xbox 360 console.

If live sports streaming does indeed arrive via Xbox Live, it will certainly strengthen Microsoft’s online entertainment portal, which already hosts multiplayer videogame sessions and offers access to videogame demos, movie and game trailers, the Facebook social network, and Netflix.

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