Aussie Xbox 360s Get Cable Television

Australian Xbox 360 owners will later this year get access to what Americans would call cable television, with a deal struck between Microsoft and Foxtel, a provider of satellite TV.

While exact details like pricing and, more importantly, exactly what channels are available are thin on the ground, we do know that for a monthly subscription fee 360 owners will get access to Fox Sports, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Disney, MTV and “other leading channels”.

Doesn’t sound like too big a deal, but in Australia, Fox Sports is king. It’s the home of Australian Rules football, Rugby League, Rugby Union, the English Premier League, the local A-League soccer competition and a lot of international cricket as well. For Britons, it’s like Sky, for Americans, it’s like NFL Sunday Ticket, NBA TV and MLB TV rolled into one.

As most Australians are still without a Foxtel subscription – it’s a bit pricey – this should prove to be big business for both the 360 and Foxtel, provided a workaround can be found for the nation’s stingy bandwidth limitations (hopefully Microsoft and Foxtel can lean on Australian ISP’s to exclude Foxtel data from caps).

UPDATE – Xbox Australia tells us that while nothing has been confirmed with local ISPs, Microsoft will be working with them to try and “sort something out”.