Fans of FOX's Family Guy can now download the first two seasons of the animated series via the Xbox Live service, thanks to a deal 20th Century Fox inked with the Microsoft Corporation.

Family Guy is the first product from FOX to make in onto the Xbox, which does not have an overall deal with the studio.  Xbox's main rival, iTunes, has yet to acquire the rights to the animated series.

"This is our first one," Jamie McCabe, executive vice president at 20th Century Fox, said.  "We hope to have other content on there, but right now with the launch of Halo 3 and the launch of the new season of Family Guy coming out, the timing really worked well for this one."

Considering the popularity of the show among males 18-34, which also serves as the key demographic in the gaming industry, McCabe added, “It's about as perfect a demographic fit as we can get."

Those who have the Xbox 360 can buy each of the episodes from the show's first two seasons, as well as the straight-to-DVD movie, Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, for 160 Microsoft points, or around $2.  The pricing is comparable to that of television episodes available on iTunes and other Video-on-Demand (VOD) platforms.

Aside from being the first FOX product available on Xbox, McCabe said this is also the first time the series has been available for downloads on any platform.

On September 18, a week before the new season of Family Guy premieres, the network is poised to release the fifth season DVD of the series, but McCabe said they do not believe the Xbox downloads will have a significant impact on DVD sales.

"It's a different market and a different consumer," he said.  "Family [Guy] has been a phenomenon on DVD, and that audience will continue to buy it."


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: FOX News
(Image Courtesy of FOX)