As always Graeme Boyd, that man AceyBongos, is keeping Xbox 360 users updated via his Twitter feed on what is happening with the on-going problems getting Sky Player up and running on Xbox LIVE.

This was posted on the Xbox.com forums a few hours ago:

As you may know, we have been experiencing some technical issues with the Sky Player on Xbox 360 since launch last Tuesday morning. It is important to both Sky and Xbox that we give customers as much information as possible about why the service is not working and when we expect this to be resolved.

We are taking this phased approach to ensure that consumers experience a high-quality experience. The Sky team has contacted the affected Sky Player TV subscribers on Xbox directly with further updates.

There you have it folks. It is actually coming, you may need to wait a few more days though!!

Look out for our review of the service coming soon.

Via gamesindustry.biz:

It is, as stated above, slowly being rolled out. Of the 2 consoles here only 1 has the service on the dashboard. There is a way of getting Sky Player though if you have already downloaded it and it’s still not appearing within the Video Marketplace. Just press the guide button on the controller, select quick launch, then latest downloads and it will be there. Just click on it to launch!!

I myself can’t seem to sign in. I get an error message along the lines of “You cannot sign in to Sky Player on this Xbox as it is not registered.” If anyone else is having the same problem, or knows how to resolve it, let me know!!

Later today Sky Player will attempt a second launch on Xbox LIVE. A few technical issues yesterday meant the service was pulled within hours of its initial appearance on the service.

This is what was posted tonight on the Xbox Support site:

Sky Player on Xbox 360 launched on Tuesday 27th October and was met with phenomenal demand, with many tens of thousands of customers attempting to sign-up within the first hour of launch. Unfortunately due to the unprecedented levels of simultaneous demand, we did not have the capacity to satisfy all service requests and therefore temporarily suspended all access to the service. Today, the rollout will be implemented in phases to ensure that consumers experience both a smooth sign-up process and high-quality experience. We apologise to all customers that have not been able to experience Sky Player on Xbox 360, we assure them that this is being rectified and we thank them for their patience.

UPDATE: Via @OXMUK: We’re hoping Sky Player will be back up soon. We’ll let you know as soon as we know.

UPDATE 2: Via @OXMUK: Sky Player appears to be up, check the Video Marketplace tab on the NXE.

UPDATE 3: Via @OXMUK: If you can’t see Sky Player, try signing out and signing back into Live. It should appear on the Vid Marketplace tab.

UPDATE 4: Again via @OXMUK: We’re getting mixed reports, some accounts have access others don’t. Keep an eye on it though, seems they’re rolling it out gradually.

UPDATE 4: This time via @MajorNelson: Live members in Ireland & UK who looking for an official update on the Sky Player->keep an eye on Xbox.com support. I’ve posted the update above.

Sky Player launched earlier today on Xbox LIVE. It was more of a whimper though, and not the fanfare that Sky and Microsoft were themselves hoping. After the initial download users were faced with constant network error messages. Even a journalist at the launch event in London noted that they were having problems there too.

Just after 12 noon I noticed that Sky Player had been removed completely from the Spotlight section and the Video Marketplace on the NXE dashboard. The Official Xbox 360 Magazine posted this on their Twitter.

Microsoft have posted the following on the Xbox Support website:

The Sky Player on Xbox 360 service did successfully launch early this morning, it has subsequently been suspended due to an unforeseen technical issue. With so much excitement and interest in the service, we’d much prefer to ensure that our customers enjoy the highest possible quality of service. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to our customers who have attempted to access the service today. Sky Player engineers are hard at work to resolve the problem – we expect to have the full service available tomorrow.

So there you have it. We will now have to wait until sometime tomorrow for the service to launch proper.

UPDATE: Sky Player now says “Coming later today” on the dashboard. Clicking on the icon brings up a rather naff promo video.

UPDATE 2: Major Nelson has just posted this on his Twitter: UK Xbox LIVE Members: If you are having trouble w/ the Sky Player, we are aware of the issues and are investigating.

UPDATE 3: Via @OMXUK: Update! Sky Player is now back up, and working, but only if you’ve already downloaded the software. I have just tested it and no, it is not working. Still the promo video when clicked on.

UPDATE 4: Via @SuperKaylo: Sky Player update, there’s a statement on the Xbox support site here: http://bit.ly/18Nwlt. The statement has been added above.