Microsoft has announced a new partner that will deliver live and on-demand sports programs on the Xbox One.

Microsoft and NeuLion have announced a partnership that will bring live sporting events through streaming technology. This content will come in at 60 frames per second and have a bitrate of up to six MBPS, according to a report from Multichannel. Seven different bit rates will be offered by NeuLion depending on bandwidth available to users. Financial details were not released by either company.

This partnership will bring various 24/7 sports channels to Xbox One users that will provide up-to-date statistics from different sports programs in addition to on-demand content, such as 24/7 live streaming of the NFL Network. Users will need a cable subscription that includes the NFL Network to gain access. However, if users already have the Xbox One and a cable subscription they will be able to enjoy the NFL Network and the Thursday Night Football games that appear exclusively on the network. Considering every NFL team appears on a Thursday night game, this could be a popular feature for Xbox One users to take advantage of. 

Currently, Microsoft offers Xbox One users apps for ESPN and the NFL that stream content on the console. However, users must pay a monthly subscription fee to access the content from these apps, so it will be interesting to see how the NeuLion content prices compare to the existing sports apps found on the console. Users are also able to connect their existing cable boxes to the Xbox One and watch content through the Xbox One if their cable provider has partnered with Microsoft to allow this function to operate.

No release date has been announced for the NeuLion streaming content on the Xbox One.