HBO said it has expanded the reach of HBO Now, its standalone OTT subscription service, to the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and new Samsung smart TVs in time for Sunday’s season six premiere of Game of Thrones.

HBO said the OTT service can be bought directly through the app via 2016 Samsung smart TVs, noting that HBO Now will be offered “soon” on 2015 Tizen-powered Samsung smart TVs (Tizen is Samsung’s home-grown OS for mobiles, wearables, in connected vehicles that became part of its smart TV strategy last year.).

On Xbox, HBO said it’s letting all of those users watch the first episode of season six of GoT after its April 24 premiere (from April 25 to April 28).

The $14.99 per month HBO Now was launched last April. The service ended 2015 with about 800,000 subs, and was approaching 1 million subs, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said at an investors conference in March.

HBO Now is supported on several other platforms, including the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV (second-generation and above), select Android TV-powered devices, Roku players and Roku TVs, the Google Chromecast adapter, iOS and Android mobile devices, Amazon Fire tablets, and Web browsers.

“We’re thrilled to give HBO NOW subscribers easy access to all that HBO has to offer through their Xbox console,” Jeff Dallesandro, SVP, worldwide digital distribution and business development at HBO, said in a statement. “Xbox has proven to be a favorite platform for HBO audiences to stream their beloved HBO shows and movies and we are excited about this next big step in our partnership.” 

“The anticipation for Game of Thrones is at an all-time high so we’re thrilled to bring HBO NOW to Samsung TV users in time for the new season,” he added. “By streaming HBO NOW directly on a Samsung TV, consumers can watch epic, event-level programming in premium quality on a big screen—making for a tremendous viewing experience.”  

Time Warner Cable has launched its authenticated video app, TWC TV, on the Xbox One, an addition that comes more than a year and a half after the MSO debuted the TV Everywhere app on the Xbox 360 as part of a "landmark" agreement between the MSO and Microsoft that was announced in June 2013. 

TWC TV, offered to Xbox One users with a free or paid Xbox Live account, currently provides credentials subscribers with access to a library of 7,000 VOD titles and integration with the game console’s OneGuide.

TWC is also working on enhancements to the TWC TV app for the Xbox One that will feature live TV streaming. The Xbox One does support an HDMI pass-through feature that lets users view and control their live TV lineup by tethering the console to a set-top with an HDMI cable.

The TWC TV app currently offers VOD and up to 300 live TV channels on the Xbox 360, and several other platforms, including Web browsers, iOS and Android devices, Roku devices, the Kindle Fire HD & HDX, and the Fan TV box. 

Showtime will offer its TV Everywhere service to Xbox One video game owners as part of a distribution deal announced Tuesday, said network officials.

The pay TV service will provide access to its Showtime Anytime service to Xbox One video game console owners who have a Showtime and a Xbox Live subscription.

The service, which launched earlier this year on Xbox 360, features past seasons of such original shows as Homeland, The Affair, Shameless, Ray Donovan, Masters Of Sex, Dexter and Nurse Jackie.

Showtime will allow viewers to sample the pilot episode of its new drama series The Affair before its debut Sunday.

The series, which explores the emotional and psychological effects of an extramarital affair, can be seen starting today (Oct. 6) on YouTube, Sho.com, and several free on demand channels and websites as well as Showtime On Demand and Showtime Anytime.

In addition, the pilot can be seen on iPhone, iPad, Android, phones and tablets, Kindle Fire, Fire Phone, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox 360 and Apple TV streaming players.

The Affair, which stars Dominic West (The Wire), Ruth Wilson (Luther), Maura Tierney (ER) and Joshua Jackson (Fringe), debuts Sunday, Oct. 12 at 10 p.m.

While Microsoft continues touting new gaming console Xbox One as a comprehensive entertainment box, the system’s predecessor has added access to Showtime’s TV Everywhere Platform. 

Showtime Networks has added its authenticated Showtime Anytime service to the Xbox 360, available for free to all Xbox Live members and Showtime subscribers. In addition to the platform’s large selection of on-demand content, Showtime Anytime will offer Xbox users the ability to watch live broadcasts of both the East and West coast feeds. 

Showtime Anytime also integrates well with the Xbox Kinect, the motion and voice controlled device that was introduced on the Xbox 360 and became a key feature of the Xbox One. The Kinect allows Showtime viewers to browse titles and control playback without the use of a controller or remote. 

Tom Christie, President, Distribution, Business Development and Network Operations, Showtime Networks Inc., explained that the network plans to offer its authenticated service on as many platforms as possible for viewers. 

“The launch of Showtime Anytime on Xbox 360 is the logical next step in the expansion of our service. Our goal is for our subscribers to have the ability to access their favorite Showtime series wherever, whenever and however they want to watch across multiple platforms, so we’re excited to bring our award-winning programs to Xbox Live’s growing membership of millions,” Christie said in a statement. 

Showtime Anytime is expected to launch on the Xbox One later this year. 

Adding the type of feature Comcast already features on its X1 guide, Microsoft announced Wednesday that it will integrate Twitter with the OneGuide on its new Xbox One console later this year, enabling new features that will tell users what shows and movies are trending on the social network.

OneGuide, for example, will use the iconic Twitter bird to denote if the show is buzzing and present a trending guide that likewise offers a distilled view of TV shows and movies that people are tweeting about, and including their trending hashtags. The Xbox One's “mini guide” (see image above) will let users call up the Twitter conversation happening around a particular show and allow them to tweet and retweet directly from the guide.  This short video offers more details about Microsoft’s Twitter-related plans for the Xbox One.

Comcast lit up a similar feature for the TV listings on the X1 guide earlier this year that tells viewers  which shows are trending on Twitter. The MSO is also using set-top data that shows which VOD titles are trending in categories such as movies, kids and sports.

Microsoft said Twitter is one of 45 new entertainment apps that will be added to the Xbox One and Xbox 360 in time for the 2014 holiday season. With those additions, the app cataloge for the gaming platforms mwill will increase by 25%, extending that total to more 225 apps worldwide, Microsoft said.

The full list is here, but apps on tap for the Xbox One include Comedy Central, Crunchroll, Gol TV, HBO GO, Starz Play, Encore Play, MoviePlex Play, Epix, Syfy Now, Major League Gaming, Vine and VH1. Showtime Anytime, FXNOW, WATCH ABC, WATCH Disney Channel, WATCH Disney Junior, and WATCH Disney XD are among those slated for the Xbox 360.