BT and Microsoft Announce Partnership to Deliver Powerful, First-of-its-Kind Entertainment...

BT and Microsoft Announce Partnership to Deliver Powerful, First-of-its-Kind
Entertainment Experience to Consumers Through Xbox 360
BT Vision IPTV customers will soon be able to receive best in gaming, TV and
movies, all through Xbox 360.

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. and
telecommunications leader BT announced they are bringing together the
next-generation TV service BT Vision with Microsoft's Xbox 360 games and
entertainment system. All BT broadband customers will have the unique
opportunity to receive the best in high-definition gaming, television and
movies through an Xbox 360 console, in a powerful, all-in-one entertainment
experience. BT Vision, which is powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom Internet
Protocol TV (IPTV) platform, plans to make this first-of-its-kind device and
service offering available to customers in the middle of 2008. The
announcement was made during the keynote address by Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates and Microsoft President Robbie Bach of the Entertainment & Devices
Division at 2008 International CES on Jan. 6.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)
The groundbreaking partnership will enable any BT Broadband customer to
use an Xbox 360 console to access the BT Vision service and its extensive
library of on-demand content, giving instant access to hundreds of movies and
thousands of hours of sporting events, television programming, music videos
and other digital content, such as BT Vision Sport's 242 "near-live" FA
Premier League football matches.
BT Vision customers with an Xbox 360 console will gain the option of
accessing BT Vision from either the Xbox 360 console or a set-top-box. The
service will be available to existing and future Xbox 360 console owners.
BT Vision on Xbox will combine the richness of the Microsoft Mediaroom-
enabled TV service with the benefits of next-generation gaming, as well as
unique new capabilities that the integrated solution brings. Xbox LIVE, the
largest online social network in the living room, will be seamlessly
integrated into the experience, providing consumers with a wide range of
community-based features, such as voice chat, sending and receiving text and
voice messages, and accessing Xbox LIVE Marketplace, all while watching TV.
For example, while a TV viewer is enjoying his favorite football game, he can
receive a message from a friend inviting him to join a voice chat, or they
could play a game of their own with EA SPORTS(TM) "FIFA Soccer."
"We are pleased to partner with Microsoft to deliver a truly compelling
connected entertainment experience to our customers," said Dan Marks, CEO of
BT Vision. "For the first time consumers in the U.K. will be able to
experience the advantages of an advanced TV service together with the benefits
of next-generation gaming. Our aim is to provide BT Vision on multiple
platforms -- giving customers greater convenience, control and flexibility
over what they watch, when they watch and how they watch TV. It also means
that we are able to potentially expand our BT Vision customer base by tapping
into the popularity of Xbox 360."
"This is an exciting moment in home entertainment," said Enrique
Rodriguez, corporate vice president of the Connected Television Division at
Microsoft. "Last year at CES, we announced Xbox 360 on Microsoft Mediaroom as
a powerful platform capable of enabling new entertainment experiences for
consumers, and we are pleased to team with BT to bring this service to market.
Together we are enabling BT Vision customers to be the first in the world to
enjoy this next-generation TV and gaming entertainment experience."
About BT
BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and
services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include
networked IT services; local, national and international telecommunications
services; higher-value broadband and internet products and services and
converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four
lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.
In the year ended 31 March 2007, BT Group plc's revenue was pounds Sterling
20,223 million with profit before taxation of pounds 2,484 million.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT
Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT
Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.
For more information, visit http://www.bt.com.
About BT Vision
BT Vision is available to anyone with a BT Broadband connection with
suitable minimum line speed and a BT Home Hub. It offers a free HD-ready
set-top box, known as the V-Box, which includes all the 60 or so Freeview TV
and radio channels, an inclusive digital video recorder (DVR) of up to 80
hours which allows viewers to pause and rewind live TV, and offers instant
viewing of thousands of hours of great entertainment, including blockbuster
and classic movies, cartoons, music and TV programmes. For more details please
go to http://www.bt.com/btvision.
The V-box is free for new broadband customers or existing customers
re-contracting for 12 months (18 months with Option 1) -- otherwise
pounds 199. A connection fee of pounds 30 and engineer installation of
pounds 60 applies, or Vision can be self-installed for just the connection fee
of pounds 30.
Services including live Setanta Sports action require a decoder card.
About Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is a superior video game and entertainment system delivering the
best games, unique entertainment features and a unified online gaming network
that revolve around gamers. Xbox 360 will have a portfolio of more than 300
games and will be available in nearly 40 countries by the end of 2007. More
information can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/xbox360.
About Microsoft Mediaroom
The award-winning Microsoft Mediaroom Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)
and multimedia software platform is driving the future of television by
enabling broadband service providers to deliver new connected TV and
entertainment experiences to consumers worldwide. Microsoft Mediaroom provides
new ways for consumers to experience TV as part of their connected, digital
lifestyle, while also creating new business opportunities for broadband
service providers, hardware manufacturers, content creators, advertisers and
application developers. Over 20 of the world's leading service providers
across four continents have selected the Microsoft Mediaroom platform to drive
their digital TV services. More information on Microsoft Mediaroom and the
opportunity to deliver the best in TV plus all your media in one place is
available at http://www.microsoft.com/TV and
http://www.microsoftmediaroom.com.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their
full potential.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

pr.mspx./ /CONTACT: BT Group Newsroom (24-hour number), + 020 7356 5369, From
outside the UK, + 44 20 7356 5369, http://www.bt.com/newscentre; or Microsoft
Xbox Team, Paul Fox, +44 (118) 9092401, paulfox@microsoft.com, Genevieve
Waldman, +44 (118) 9092380, gwaldman@microsoft.com; or Microsoft Mediaroom,
Microsoft TV US Team, Weber Shandwick, +1-425-452-5400,
mstv@webershandwick.com, Microsoft TV European Team, Weber Shandwick London,
+44 207 067 0500, mstvemea@webershandwick.com