Microsoft Details New Sports Entertainment Apps for Xbox One

It seems Microsoft is finally ready to once again talk about the entertainment experiences that are coming to its Xbox LIVE service as a part of the Xbox One launch this fall. The company finally showed off a few of the more important entertainment experiences, sports.

Through ESPN on Xbox One, Xbox One users will be able to watch live streaming content from ESPN.com video content and ESPN3 on their Xbox One – the availability of which is determined by the internet and cable subscriptions in each area. Xbox One users will be able continuing enjoying content from ESPN on Xbox One while doing other tasks using the console’s Snap functionality.

Football lovers will also be able to watch east week’s games from the upcoming NFL on Xbox One. Through the applications, users will be able to monitor the latest scores and stream games from the NFL.com, NFL Network and NFL RedZone content libraries. Microsoft says that it’s partnered with the NFL to provide Surfaces to teams on the field too.

Finally, Microsoft says that users can look forward to Fantasy Football functionality on the Xbox 360, Windows 8 and Windows Phone starting today. While users won’t be able to watch live streams through the NFL.com Fantasy Football application, users will be able to watch highlights from games through the application beginning September 5th.

Just as with the Xbox 360, users who don’t have an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription won’t be able to take advantage of any of these applications on their Xbox One. However NFL.com Fantasy Football on Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 doesn’t need an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription.

Today’s announcement is the first time Microsoft has announced entertainment experiences on the Xbox One since it first showed off the Xbox One at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo back in June. At the time many users, criticized the company for not focusing on gaming enough, something that Sony was able to use to their advantage during its own E3 press event.

The Xbox One is currently available for pre-order now for $499. While the company hasn’t detailed an exact date for the console, it has gone on record saying that the console will arrive on store shelves in time for the holiday season.