Xbox Live Update Adds HBO GO, Comcast Xfinity, MLB.TV

Microsoft is rolling out an update to Xbox Live on Tuesday that will offer users a plethora of new content, including on-demand entertainment apps from HBO GO, Comcast Xfinity, and MLB.TV.

The apps are now available to Xbox 360 owners who subscribe to the aforementioned services. The latest addition brings the total number of apps available on Xbox Live to 36, and the new options are compatible with voice and gestures controls through .

"HBO and Xbox is a marriage of the two preeminent brands in their respective fields," Otto Berkes, senior vice president of consumer technology at HBO, said in a statement. "During my tenure at Microsoft, we always envisioned Xbox as an entertainment hub and the addition of HBO GO represents a coming of age for the platform. The experience is one that will impress both the HBO subscribers and the Xbox fans."

Comcast on Monday noted in a blog post that customers who subscribe to Xfinity TV for Xbox will not be subject to the carrier's 250GB monthly data cap, which at least one group has criticized as a .

Microsoft told PCMag that since new entertainment apps were in December, total hours spent on Xbox Live have increased 30 percent year over year, while entertainment app usage has more than doubled in the same period. Gold members in the U.S. also average 84 hours every month on Xbox Live, Microsoft said.

In fact, as Microsoft has ramped up the number of entertainment apps available, entertainment usage has actually surpassed multiplayer game usage for the first time, meaning people are using Xbox Live to watch TV and movies and listen to music more than they are playing games.

Microsoft said it will continue to add more apps to Xbox Live this year. Last week, the on Xbox 360.

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