Microsoft funding Zune-exclusive video

In an indication that Microsoft isn't giving up on the Zune, the company plans to offer exclusive video programming for the portable device.

Variety reports that the videos are a way to draw more people to the Zune while giving Hollywood another distribution platform. It could also be a way for Microsoft to assert that the Zune is not dead, despite last quarter's revenue decrease of $100 million for the player. (To be fair, Microsoft later explained that the losses were due to a lack of new products in the lineup this season, as well as the economy.)

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The first of these free but ad-supported videos is an eight episode series called "Cinemash," a comedy in which celebrities act out roles that they've failed to land. Mean, an entertainment magazine that has previously created Web content with James McAvoy, Elizabeth Banks, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Kingsley and Seth Rogen, will produce the three to five minute episodes.

The programming won't be exclusive to the Zune. After an initial availability over the Zune Marketplace for viewing on the device and on personal computers, the videos will make their way to Xbox Live and the MSN Network. Content will ultimately include animations, music videos and other live-action comedies.

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Cinemash will be available by May. It'll be interesting to see how Microsoft markets this in an attempt to reach the coveted 18-35 year-old demographic.

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