More Ads Coming to Xbox Live

When Microsoft rolled out their last major Xbox 360 update a lot of fans were annoyed with the massive space allotted to advertisements. That doesn't seem likely to change soon but Microsoft has decided to introduce more ads. These ads in particular will be popping up when running TV/video apps on the system.

General manager of Xbox Live Entertainment and Advertising, Ross Honey, said:

"With the growth of Xbox Live, advertisers no longer have to choose between digital and TV advertising - we're offering the impact of TV and the interactivity and addressability of digital in one platform. As more and more industry leaders like ESPN work with us to help monetize their content on Xbox Live, TV media buyers win with the ability to extend their standard TV spots to this highly engaged consumer audience."

There's no doubt that the old TV audience is shifting more toward the internet and internet-connected devices to watch shows. Because of this, we're probably going to see this eventually become the standard for other streaming service providers as well. It may annoy users though as in order to use entertainment apps at all you have to pay for Xbox Live Gold. These ads will run 15-30 seconds each.

This news comes right after the Entertainment Unlocked promotion which allowed non-Gold users access to the various entertainment apps on their 360s. That's one way to hook in a bunch of new users only to then provide them with a slightly altered service.


Do you use the entertainment apps on your 360? Will new ads bother you?