• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, October 11, 2010

AT&T said it will allow U-verse TV subscribers to receive the TV service on an Xbox 360 device starting this week, marking an opportunity for U-verse to attract younger subscribers who could be cord-cutters.

U-verse becomes the first service provider to offer live TV via an Xbox console. The system allows easy switching between live TV and the game-playing, as well as DVR usage.

AT&T said U-verse customers will not have to pay extra for a hook-up on the Xbox, avoiding costs for an additional receiver. For new customers, it costs $99 to sync U-verse with Xbox.

As of the end of June, AT&T had 2.5 million U-verse TV subscribers.

Separately, AT&T said it will debut a U-verse mobile service with Microsoft next month, where AT&T wireless subscribers with a Windows Phone 7-equipped smartphone can watch selected TV shows on-demand.

Wireless customers without U-verse TV can watch the shows on the devices for $9.99 a month. This allows some of the U-verse service to be available to customers across the country, not just in the U-verse footprint.

Andreas Mueller-Schubert, GM, media platforms business, Microsoft Corp, said the new initiatives make "TV anywhere a possibility, delivering rich entertainment experiences for consumers across multiple screens, inside and outside the home."