Microsoft partners with Time Warner for new live TV deal

Today, Microsoft announced a "landmark" deal with Time Warner Cable that will bring 300 of the cable company's live TV channels to the Xbox 360 later this summer.

Users must have an Xbox Live Gold membership and a subscription to Time Warner Cable to watch live television through their Xbox 360s. Live streaming is available only to those in the United States.

Supported channels include AMC, BBC World News, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CNN, Comedy Central, Food Network, HGTV, and more. Users will be able to control the programming using their voice through the Kinect, Microsoft said.

This deal is similar to the existing offer for Verizon FiOS subscribers, where users can watch many of the same channels live through their Xbox 360s with Kinect compatibility.

Live TV streaming through Microsoft's next-generation Xbox One won't require a separate application, as it currently does on the Xbox 360. The console will plug directly into a user's cable box and feed live TV through the system with an HDMI cable.