Microsoft’s Zune Adds TV Downloads

REDMOND, May 6: Microsoft Corporation’s digital
entertainment brand Zune is adding new software features and content, including
downloads of television shows from MTV Networks and Turner Broadcasting, to its
online store, music community and Zune Pass monthly subscription service.

Zune is expanding its video store to include downloads of
television shows from Comedy Central, FUNimation Entertainment, MTV, NBC
Universal, Nickelodeon, Starz Media (including Manga Entertainment), Turner
Broadcasting, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and VH1 that consumers can
sync to their device. Consumers can now choose from more than 800 episodes of
popular television series to download and watch on their computer or their
Zune, including Comedy Central’s South Park; FUNimation’s Afro Samurai and Witchblade; NBC’s The Office, Heroes and 30 Rock; MTV’s The Hills; Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob
SquarePants; SCI FI
Channel’s Battlestar Galactica and Eureka; Starz’s Ghost in the Shell and Street Fighter; Turner Broadcasting’s Metalocalypse and Robot Chicken; UFC’s The Ultimate
Fighter and Fight
Night; and VH1’s Rock
of Love. Each
television show will be priced at 160 Microsoft Points per episode
(approximately $1.99) at launch. Zune’s online store now offers more than 3.5
million tracks, two-thirds of which are available in pure MP3 format, 800
television shows, 4,800 music videos and 3,500 audio and video podcasts.

In addition, the new software updates enhance Zune’s online
music community, making it easier for people to find and listen to the music
they want, share it with friends, and take it with them wherever they
go—whether they choose a Zune Pass or a-la-carte MP3 downloads. Zune Pass
subscribers can now set up automatic, real-time feeds of the music their
friends are listening to and add those songs to their collection or Zune
device.

Consumers with the Zune Pass subscription have the ability
to take what their friends are listening to from the Zune music community on
the go via Zune Card personal playlists for easy on-demand exploration and
access. The Zune Pass subscription includes a monthly fee of $14.99.

“Partnering with Zune will allow us to develop innovative
content offerings for their customers, including flexible pricing and packaging
options beginning this fall,” said JB Perrette, the president of NBC Universal
Digital Distribution. “NBC Universal is excited to offer our hit television
shows to Zune customers.”

—By Irene Lew