Comcast, Verizon & HBO Coming to Xbox Live

Microsoft has signed on an impressive roster of 40 TV and entertainment partners to Xbox Live, as the service evolves from a gaming hub into a full-range multimedia center.

In the U.S., Bravo, Comcast, HBO Go, Verizon FiOS, Epix and SyFy will be joining existing partners Netflix, Hulu Plus and AT&T in offering content to Xbox Live subscribers. BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Lovefilm will come to Xbox Live in the UK; Antena 3, RTVE and Telefonica in Spain; Televisa in Mexico; DF in Germany; and MediaSet in Italy.

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The amount of content these new partners are offering varies, however. Verizon is extending its full range of live TV channels and on-demand videos to Xbox Live, and Comcast is only making its VOD library available. HBO is bringing its HBO Go streaming service to the console, which will make all episodes from its original series library available, as well as a number of movies from Warner Bros., Universal Studios and Fox Searchlight.

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A full list of new and existing partners is available in the press release.

Microsoft is also integrating Bing-powered voice search, which will allow users to search for content using voice commands.

This story originally published on Mashable here.