The news service Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft is set to pull off a major coup in its efforts to make the Xbox 360 a one-stop home entertainment hub. According to a story posted today, Xbox Live is readying agreements with Comcast, Verizon, and other cable TV providers to bring live for-pay TV to the 360.



The report says that Microsoft may announce these new TV deals as early as next week. In addition to Comcast and Verizon, the company is talking to Time Warner, HBO, Sony Picture Entertainment's Crackle streaming service, and the NBC-owned Bravo and Syfy channels, among others.



Bloomberg contacted Microsoft, Comcast, and Verizon, but received no comment.



While many of you might now be dreaming of ditching your cable boxes, there appears to be a catch. According to the story, two sources said that, in order to watch cable programming on your Xbox 360, the terms of the deal would "require users to prove they already are pay-TV customers in regions where the services operate."



This model would be similar to HBO's new HBO Go online streaming service, which requires you to log in as a customer of your local cable provider.

This report seems to confirm months of rumors that live TV was coming to Xbox Live.



Source: Bloomberg via Gamasutra