Microsoft (News - Alert) is gearing up to announce the latest to its Xbox Live subscription service. The new addition? Xbox TV. Essentially, your Xbox device can now be turned into more than just a gaming console, but an actual set top box for cable and streaming video.

As good as it sounds, there is one catch: you need cable TV service.

It seems a bit redundant because it is.

Users of Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold service who also are Verizon (News - Alert) FiOS TV and Internet subscribers will be able to view live TV through their existing Xbox 360 machines, the companies said today in a statement.

It’s an extension of existing service, notes AllThingsD.

It does, however, include nearly 40 TV stations and “entertainment providers” across the globe, like BBC in the UK, Telefónica in Spain, Televisa in Mexico and ZDF from Germany.

“Using a Verizon-developed software application, FiOS (News - Alert) TV and Internet customers who are also Xbox LIVE Gold members will be able to view popular live TV channels through their Xbox consoles without any extra hardware required,” according to the news release. “This holiday, Verizon will bring a selection of popular live TV channels to Xbox 360 and will be a leader in delivering live, multichannel streaming HD TV, integrated with Kinect, via the Xbox.”

“Today’s announcement is a major step toward realizing our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy,” said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Combining the world’s leading TV and entertainment providers with the power of Kinect for Xbox 360* and the intelligence of Bing voice search will make TV and entertainment more personal, social and effortless.”

The news release did not include any details about pricing, but it certainly won't be free. Customers need also to be subscribers to HBO, for example, to be able to view its HBO GO programming.