Canal Plus joins Xbox Live

French pay-TV operator Canal Plus Group has formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft that will see it distribute its services via Microsoft Xbox 360 games consoles.

Canal Plus will initially distribute on-demand services to Xbox users, of which there are around a million in France. Canalplay, Canal Plus’s online VOD service, will be sold to Xbox Live users via Microsoft’s Zune platform, while Canal Plus à la demande, the operator’s catch-up TV service, will also be made available.

Subscribers to the Foot Plus football service using the platform will also be able to interact with each other in real time during matches.