Xbox adds hbo & showtime apps, twitter integration

Microsoft is beefing up the online video entertainment offerings of its Xbox Live online service by 25 percent, adding apps from HBO, Showtime, various Disney channels, Comedy Central and

dozens of others it said will become available sometime this year. The company also is integrating Twitter and Twitter‘s short-video service Vine into the service, providing ready access to

the social-media services while watching TV through the Xbox One console. That deep integration will allow people to tweet about a show onscreen as they’re watching it, see in the program

guide what shows are getting a lot of tweets and to follow what those who are connected with a show are posting. Larry Hryb, a longtime Xbox executive, said in a video released today that

the new approach with Twitter will make it easy for fans to talk about the shows they’re watching. It’s clearly an attempt by Microsoft to pull the so-called “second-screen” experience —

watching a show while using social media on a tablet or phone — back into a single device. The integration looks slickly done in the video, but it will be interesting to see whether users

will follow Microsoft’s lead. Will they use either a controller or perhaps their handheld devices with a remote-control app to tweet through the TV screen instead of directly through their

phone? More will likely be disclosed in next Monday’s big presentation from Microsoft ahead of the E3 video game convention in Los Angeles. Below is the list of all the channels and the

countries where the new apps will roll out by sometime in “the holiday season,” according to Microsoft. Some will be available on the newest device, the Xbox One, while others will be

available on the older Xbox 360, which continues to sell after nearly 8 years in the market. Some will be available only in one or another country, and some in quite a few. WATCH ON DEADLINE

* 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