MTV app lands on Xbox 360, provides on-demand access to shows

Viacom must see a lot of potential in the Xbox 360 (and, perhaps, the upcoming Xbox One), as it has just released yet another app for the system — this time, according to The Next Web, bringing MTV shows into the fold. Users who download the app will have access to the past five episodes of popular shows like Catfish, Girl Code and Teen Wolf. Previously, Viacom also released apps for Paramount movies, as well as Comedy Central Stand-up and Nickelodeon.

There are a couple of caveats, however. In order to use the MTV app on your Xbox 360, you’ll need to be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber. If you meet that requirement, you’ll also need to be a cable television subscriber with one of Viacom’s “TV Everywhere” partners. These include AT&T U-Verse, Bright House Networks, CableVision, DirecTV, Hawaiian Telecom, Time Warner Cable, RCN, Suddenlink and Verizon FiOS. One major ISP missing from that list is Comcast/Xfinity, so if that’s your cable company (like it is mine), you’re out of luck.

The app works a lot like the Xbox 360 dashboard you’re used to, retaining that same “Metro” feel with tiles of content sitting underneath section headings. You can use your control pad or shoulder buttons to navigate between sections like “Featured,” “2013 VMAs,” “Shows,” “Quickies,” and “Settings.”

You don’t have to authenticate with your cable provider to browse through the app, but if you want to watch one of the full-length episodes, you’ll be required to log in. This type of authentication is pretty much the norm nowadays with TV apps on any kind of streaming box, and while it makes apps essentially useless for cord cutters, it does let cable subscribers access content without having to pay for another cable box. That’s a small win for the consumer.

There appears to be a whole lot of life left in this nearly eight year-old game console, and the addition of the MTV app goes a long way in showing that. It joins many apps for cable TV networks, premium channels and streaming services on the system, and in case you forgot, it also plays a plethora of disc-based and digital titles. With those capabilities, the Xbox 360 could wind up being a bedroom or guest room mainstay for some time to come, even after the arrival of the Xbox One. And Microsoft shows no signs of slowing down support for the system — many of the Xbox One’s AAA launch titles will also make their way to the previous-generation 360 this fall.

Will you be downloading the MTV app onto your Xbox 360? If you do, try it out and let us know what you think.