MSNBC.com Moves To Fill Zune Video Void; Video, Audio Will Be Accessible Through Zune.net

Updated to clarify Zune access: Ok, so video podcast of Meet the Press and the NBC Nightly News aren’t going to fill a 30G Zune but it should be a sign for the people who are fretting over the lack of video for the bright, big Zune screens. MSNBC.com will make full video podcast of the the two news shows available for free downloading from the Zune Marketplace Zune.net and iTunes effective Tuesday; they’ll also be accessible through MSNBC.com. The daily newscasts will be available at 10 p.m. eastern while the weekly show will be up at 1 p.m. eastern. NBC News programming started audio podcast of the two shows last year. It’s hard to believe these will be the only videos available through the Zune Marketplace this week.
— An MSNBC.com spokeswoman explains that the shows aren’t being produced with DRM so should work on any WMV or MPEG-4 compatible portable player, including Windows Mobile phones.
Update: Some clarification that explains the strike-out above … I jumped the gun on video podcast in Zune Marketplace, which will not support video or audio podcasts directly at launch. However, users will be able to browse for content in video and audio sections on Zune.net, then click through to places like MSNBC.com for direct downloads or to subscribe using third-party podcast software. The Zune software will scan for downloads and allow copying to the player.
The translation: Yes, Zune users will have access to video right away. No, it won’t be as easy to grab at first as it should be. No, you can’t pay for downloads of Lost to watch on the 3-inch screen or even for shows that aren’t under lockdown at iTunes. Yes, podcast support would seem like a no-brainer. Yes, ditto for pay to play. Yes, there’s going to be a lot of confusion between Zune.net amd Zune Marketplace. And, yes, the MSNBC.com video podcast looks just fine on a non-Zune/non-iPod device, the Creative Zen Vision: M, in this case.

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