Sky Player has been pulled from Xbox 360 shortly after launch “due to an unforeseen technical issue”.

The online TV service launched earlier today with 24 channels available to watch via Microsoft’s console.

“The Sky Player on Xbox 360 service did successfully launch early this morning, it has subsequently been suspended due to an unforeseen technical issue," Microsoft said in a statement.

“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."

First announced in May, Sky Player on Xbox 360 will allow Xbox Live Gold members in the UK and Ireland to access a range of content to view live or on-demand when it resumes. The basic viewing package will cost non-Sky TV customers £15 per month.