NBC content comes to the Zune

As well as MTV, Nickelodeon and Ultimate Fighting

6 May 2008 11:18 GMT / By Katie Scott

So us Brits probably won't see the Zune until next year, and that'll be the third gen version, but those lucky chaps in the US will soon be available to enjoy new music and TV content.

Microsoft is expanding its video store so that Zune owners will be able to download content from Comedy Central, MTV, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and VH1 among other channels.

Each television show will be priced at 160 Microsoft Points per episode (approximately $1.99) at launch.

NBC Universal is a coupe as it very publicly fell out with Apple and pulled its content from iTunes, and now Microsoft has benefitted.

As well as new video content, it is also going to easier for Zune owners to find and listen to music.

From today, Zune Pass subscribers can set up automatic, real-time feeds of the music their friends are listening to and add those songs to their collection or Zune device.

Users simply drag and drop Zune Cards from friends to their Zune device and get updates on what friends are listening to every time they sync.

If the song is available with Zune Pass, subscribers automatically have the full track on their Zune while non-subscribers will get the full album information and artwork.

The Zune Pass subscription costs $14.99 per month.

Other updates include the ability to add a user's name, location and bio info to their Zune music community profile.

And the Zune music community has also been improved so that it is easier to get access to the Zune team music editors; to read reviews of artists and albums by other members; and also Windows Live Messenger contacts will now be able to see what users are listening to via the Zune software.

The Zune also now offers new track and album information editing tools; new sorting tools; and gapless playback.