No Gold membership required to access Netflix and other apps from June

As the title says from June 9th you will no longer need a Gold membership to access entertainment apps on Xbox consoles. (about time)

Microsoft will also be selling a Kinect-free version of Xbox One.

Confirmed reports of this from Yahoo and PC World websites as well as dedicated gaming sites cvg and ign

Batesy

Will this include the Skygo app on 360 I wonder?
There's no mention of it anywhere.

Batesy

I'm actually thinking that the fact there hs been no mention of SkyGo from Microsoft they could be about to lose that app.

Sony have said a SkyGo app is coming to PS4 this summer. I wonder have Sony shelled out to have it exclusively on Playstation?

I would imagine the Sky app will be included as it is one of the entertainment apps available for the Xbox.

As for Microsoft losing the Sky app I think this is doubtful, Sky would only be affecting their own customers.
In the coming months they will have their app on Sony consoles which will allow even more customers to access the service. It is in their interest to have their app on as many devices as possible.

Batesy

I agree with what you're saying but do you not find it strange that SkyGo wasn't mentioned in the list of apps? Surely it's up there with Netflix in popularity.

Or maybe Sky has an issue with it being made free to all Xbox accounts. I don't see how or why as I would've thought all the gold subs go directly to Microsoft.

Maybe it's just a case that Microsoft are still in negotiations with Sky on the issue. They'll want it on XBox One at the same time as PS4 surely.

Batesy

Actually looking at that statement, it's US biased so that's probably why SkyGo isn't listed.

Riesen_Meal

I thought Xbox isn't getting the Sky app due to a little courtroom spat over the Skydrive or "One" Drive name?

toby2111

So does this mean I can watch rte player without buying xbox live gold sub now? My sub has run out.
Any update on the Sky app? Is it available without xbox live sub?

calex71

toby2111 wrote: »

So does this mean I can watch rte player without buying xbox live gold sub now? My sub has run out.
Any update on the Sky app? Is it available without xbox live sub?

As far as I know all entertainment apps were covered under the changes

BionicRasher

If you already have a Gold sub (like me) and only use the Xbox for a media player then you can get a refund of your remaining months (I will have 7 months refund due so maybe I will get €15 or back)

Microsoft Offering Xbox Live Gold Refunds After The Paywall Comes Down

From Microsoft’s FAQ:

“Once the Xbox One and Xbox 360 system updates become available in June, Xbox Live Gold members who purchased a paid membership before that day can cancel and receive a pro-rata refund of any unused remaining days between the date of cancellation and the date their paid Gold membership ends.

“Cancellation and pro-rata refund requests must be made by August 31, 2014 and require six to eight weeks for processing. Free or trial Gold memberships are not eligible for a refund. To request your pro-rata refund, please click support.xbox.com/contact-us after the system updates become available in June.”

Microsoft have now released an update for Xbox 360 and Xbox One which should remove the Gold requirement for the entertainment apps

smellmepower

So can anyone confirm that Sky Go is now available without Gold?will cancel my membership if it is.

Benzino

Not sure about Sky Go but Netflix is working without it. It's annoying though cause you still need to connect to Xbox Live, so if it's down (which it is now), you cannot watch Netflix etc.

toby2111

smellmepower wrote: »

So can anyone confirm that Sky Go is now available.

Yeh, if like to know that also..... Anyone try it yet?

Sky Go is confirmed as one of the entertainment apps. Check out the link below which lists all of the Xbox 360 and Xbox One apps included (you will need to select Ireland from the list of countries obviously)

http://support.xbox.com/en-GB/my-account/xbox-live-membership/live-apps-faq?icid=furl_liveappsfaq#630a0741ccd0402fb212dee02f4bb890

BionicRasher

Sky confirmed to work without a Gold subscription. I just tried it now and watching the rugby on Sky Sports without a Gold Sub but you have to be signed in to a Live account obviously.

Also great that it now has all the ITVs on the Sky app including the new ITV Encore

joe123

BionicRasher wrote: »

Sky confirmed to work without a Gold subscription. I just tried it now and watching the rugby on Sky Sports without a Gold Sub but you have to be signed in to a Live account obviously.

Also great that it now has all the ITVs on the Sky app including the new ITV Encore

Will ITV work in Ireland? Ive a feeling we wont have access to it. Think theres some licensing reason behind it. Not working for me at the minute anyways.

toby2111

Yeh, I can't view itv on sky go through the xbox so I presume I can't watch itv encore either.

Tilikum

What date does this actually start from? My gold has ran out now but I can't open skygo

ThisRegard

It's been available since last Friday at least anyway.

BionicRasher

joe123 wrote: »

Will ITV work in Ireland? Ive a feeling we wont have access to it. Think theres some licensing reason behind it. Not working for me at the minute anyways.

Ya looks like ITV wont work - pity as the Xbox and Sky app are great and with ITV it would have a great line up of stuff