Microsoft is going Hollywood as the software giant is expected to roll out the first shows from its Xbox television studio starting in June.
The effort, led by former CBS executive Nancy Tellem, is expected to turn out original programming, a la' Netflix and Amazon. Reports say there are more than a dozen projects in the works with six series already set to launch that will be available to those with an Xbox One or 360.
So far the flagship project is called Humans. This show is a science fiction piece about human-looking robot workers and will debut next year. Another show, Every Street United, is an unscripted soccer/football program, while a third will be a comedy sketch show created by Sarah Silverman and Michael Cera.
Microsoft itself may be entering unfamiliar territory, but corporate America has proven that it does not take a major TV network to create a hit program.
Amazon and Netflix have enjoyed a great deal of success with their own shows and like these competitors Microsoft also has a direct channel into millions of American homes, its Xbox game console.
The company does understand the challenge and is going in with its eyes open.
"This is not an easy business," said Tellem, who oversaw network entertainment at CBS between 1998 and 2009 when shows such as "CSI" and "Survivor" became hits. "There's a huge failure rate. You have to get up to the plate a lot. Hopefully we can have a higher batting average than most, but it's a long process."
What Microsoft wants to do that the other cannot right now is make the shows interactive. One such plan associated with Every Street United will allow viewers to unlock extra scenes and play games, while with Humans viewers will have the ability to follow the characters outside the confines of the show.
Microsoft has not fully figured out how it will monetize the operation. It has announced that Every Street United will be offered for free, but nothing is yet known about the other shows.
The programming will be geared at males between 18 and 34 years old, the most likely to be gamers and own the console.
Microsoft is picking a tough time to enter this space. Not only is it highly competitive, but the company itself is in flux. Satya Nadella took over as CEO from Steve Ballmer in February and people have been coming and going in the gaming division.
Don Mattrick just left as the head of the Xbox group and chief product officer Marc Whitten is also gone. Possibly most telling is the departure in January of Blair Westlake who had been Microsoft's Hollywood liaison.
On his way out, Westlake said, "the organization is moving in a direction that does not fit either my expertise or my skill sets."
