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Xbox Live said to get HBO Go, Comcast

After months of waiting, sources say that HBO Go and Comcast video-on-demand will now be available on the gaming console.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
Dara Kerr
2 min read
Xbox live to get new content partners and live TV programming. CNET

It's looking like "Game of Thrones" fans will have a couple extra days to get ready to watch the premiere of season two on Microsoft's XBox Live. Rumor has it that both HBO Go and Comcast's video-on-demand service will be available on Xbox Live tomorrow, according to tech news site GigaOM.

Ever since Microsoft announced last fall that its gaming console would add HBO Go and Comcast in with its new content partners and live TV programming, users have awaited the official launch. Several other apps shortly became available, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, and ESPN.

Months passed by and then finally HBO Co-President Eric Kessler said in February that his company planned to make HBO Go available on the Xbox 360 on April 1 to coincide with the premiere of this season's "Game of Thrones." However, according to GigaOM, tomorrow's launch makes a lot more sense.

"For one thing, Microsoft always releases Xbox updates (and really, any software update) on Tuesday," GigaOM reporter Ryan Lawler wrote in an article today. "For another, it seemed extremely unlikely that HBO would want to have users try to download the app on the same day as the premiere, which could potentially create a bad user experience if things didn't go as planned."

The launch of Comcast's video-on-demand also seems to make sense. The cable TV provider announced at the end of February its new subscription service, Xfinity Streampix, via the Web. And now, having video available directly from the Xbox game console lets Comcast make its content available across several platforms. According to GigaOM, the company also recently announced its plans to expand to the iPad and connected TVs from Samsung.

Microsoft did not immediately reply to request for comment.