TORONTO – Rogers' new on-demand app will be available on the Xbox 360 and newly designed Xbox LIVE dashboard just in time for the holiday season, the company said Monday.
Rogers' announcement was a piece of a global Xbox launch of its new interface, which also included a Disney XD channel from Astral Media and word that Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment will make content available via the gaming platform.
Free for Rogers’ postpaid wireless, home phone and Internet customers, the Rogers app will include over 1,000 hours of video content at launch. Rogers’ cable TV customers will also have access to premium channel programming that they subscribe to through their existing cable package.
"Over half of all Canadian households own Internet-capable gaming consoles and they're using them for more than just gaming," said David Purdy, Rogers’ VP video products, in the announcement. "We're delighted to join forces with Microsoft and give our customers access to world-class TV entertainment anytime they want it on the popular Xbox console."
"Xbox and Rogers On Demand share a common vision, to transform and enhance the entertainment experience on TV," added Glenn Purkis, product manager at Xbox LIVE. "We're thrilled to host the Rogers On Demand app on Xbox LIVE and offer our members access to great content in a more social and personal way with voice and gesture controls through the power of Kinect and Bing."
The app is downloadable through the Xbox LIVE dashboard with an Xbox 360 LIVE Gold subscription.
Astral's Disney XD channel is more limited with about 10-12 full show episodes and 30 or so shorts as the company is hopeful Xbox users will convince their parents to subscribe to the full pay channel, or to figure out that their household is already a subscriber.
