Game consoles, on both sides of the Atlantic, are continuing to build-up their content service partnerships in an attempt to position themselves as premium entertainment hubs. These developments indicate no major shifts in the overall strategies of Canal Plus, Netflix or LOVEFiLM- this strategy being to migrate their services onto as many connected device platforms as possible. However, some content providers face bigger hurdles, not so much in the expansion of the availability footprint of their services on different platforms, but in the building of the depth and variety of their content library.

Although Netflix is already accessible in the US on the Nintendo Wii and has been on the Sony PS3 game console via a streaming disc for over a year, the official integration of Netflix as a native service indicates that the exclusive partnership between Netflix and direct competitor Microsoft has expired. This exclusivity had been somewhat of a feather in the cap of Microsoft, but was unlikely to continue given that it is in Netflix's best interest to make its streaming service as widely available as possible. In the US, Netflix has been able to improve its online offering in the past six months by finding ways to circumvent the pay TV window and striking exclusive deals with independent studios. Deals with pay-TV channel Epix (backed by Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate), Relativity Media, and the renewal of its sublicensing deal with Starz, gives Netflix streaming customers access to a variety of titles while they are still in the traditional pay-TV window. Recently expanded streaming deals with Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Universal, in exchange for a 28-day delay in the availability of new-release titles on DVD, has also served to deepen its catalogue offering. Netflix has reported a recent increase in the uptake of their streaming service with subscribers, with 66 per cent of subscribers watching more than 15 minutes of content online in Q3 2010, compared to 41 per cent of subscribers during the same period last year- suggesting its improved online movies and TV shows line-up is strengthening the service's appeal. Although Netflix is not yet causing subscription TV customers to 'cut-the-cord' (that is, end their traditional pay-TV subscription), it is now an essential content partner for any connected device platform in the US.

Meanwhile, the Sony PS3 is the first game console in the UK to confirm LOVEFiLM as a content partner. This is not really an unexpected development as LOVEFiLM in Europe continues to mirror the strategy of Netflix in the US, and migrating its streaming service to game consoles is a key strategic component. On the PS3, LOVEFiLM will offer some titles on a free ad-supported basis and newer titles on a PPV basis to non-subscribers, in addition to offering films as a value-add for its subscribers on unlimited packages. The streaming service will join various other competing content providers already available on the PS3 in the UK, including Sony's own transactional movie VOD service delivered via the PlayStation Store. The BBC iPlayer has been available on the PS3 console since 2008, and the ITV catch-up service is also scheduled to launch by the end of 2010. LOVEFiLM has reached a new content agreement with MGM and one with Warner Bros. involving a selected number of new release titles to be offered day-and-date with their DVD release on a transactional basis. However, these are not a part of LOVEFiLM's subscription offer which lacks first-run new release movies and does not have TV titles on a catch-up basis. Unlike Netflix in the US, LOVEFiLM as of yet has not been able gain access to content in the pay TV window for subscribers, and with Sky's firm grip on first-run pay-TV window movies in the UK, it will be difficult for LOVEFiLM to improve its online content offering in the near future.

The Canal Plus launch of streaming channels on the Xbox 360 in France on the other hand is very much an addition that strengthens the console's appeal as an entertainment hub. Since 2009, subscribers of Canal Plus pay TV services have had access to a variety of sports and entertainment on SVOD, including catch-up TV and access to the Canal Plus transactional online video store CanalPlay. With the addition of streamed premium channels, Canal Plus has effectively created a multi-screen proposition for subscribers, which closely mirrors Sky's offering on the Xbox 360 in the UK. Xbox 360 owners also have the option in both territories to purchase "console-only" subscription tiers, without having to be subscribers to Canal Plus or Sky pay TV services, utilising the Xbox 360 game console as essentially a decoder or set-top box. The Xbox 360 has effectively partnered with pay TV operators in France and the UK, to extend the subscription Pay TV environment to its game console, positioning the console as a well-rounded entertainment offering.