Zune Adds Downloadable TV Shows

Microsoft's iPod competitor has added TV shows to their downoad choices on the Zune website. Some of the shows now available include The Office, 30 Rock, Spongebob Squarepants, South Park, UFC's Ultimate Fighter and Robot Chicken.

In addition, the Zune site is also working to upgrade community features for users. According to the website, “Consumers want more than the traditional transactional model of an online music store plus portable device,” said Chris Stephenson, general manager of Global Marketing for Zune at Microsoft. “Zune is putting the strong combination of an online music community together with subscription to deliver a new experience centered on music discovery that’s good for consumers, artists and the industry."

Parts of the community feature include syncing Zune cards - users drag and drop their friends' Zune cards to get updates on what friends are listening to, while subscribers to Zune ($14.99 per month) then have full access to those tracks. Non-subscribers can choose to purchase the tracks. Deeper user profiles allow for better friend search and customization, consumer ratings and reviews can be viewed, and other community features are included. The building of a Zune community is certainly a nice feature. Something that has found huge success in the MySpace crowd and yet to be a part of their competition's iPod crowd.