Microsoft VOD to Be Ad-Supported by YuMe

It’s no secret that Windows Media Center will start supporting Internet television this week. The update, to be released September 28, will give Windows Media Center and Xbox 360 users in the United States access to a selection of full-screen ad-supported video content on their PCs and connected televisions.

Microsoft is to offer 100-plus hours of MSN Video content on demand, including MSNBC, broadcast, Fox Sports, licensed shows like Arrested Development, and full-length music concerts. The content will be paid for with ads placed by YuMe Networks, the Redwood City-based startup that has developed ad formats that can be dynamically updated after being downloaded (we’ve covered other companies like Kiptronic and Podaddies doing similar things).

YuMe, which also serves ads for downloads from BitTorrent, Azureus, and Pando, as well as content streamed online from other customers, now has access to some 150 to 200 million streams per month, according to CEO Jayant Kadambi. He said some 90 percent of the company’s ad impressions come from the web, but the downloads business is coming on strong.

Currently all of YuMe’s ads are short videos, but Kadambi said the company would add interactive spots later this fall.

YuMe has more than $7 million in funding from Khosla Ventures, Accel Partners, and BV Capital.

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