Microsoft has had a hard time competing against the almighty iPod with its Zune portable device. While a respectable player in terms of quality and feature set, the Zune has remained a distant second in the portable media player market with 2 million units sold since launch while Apple moves well over 3 million iPods a month.
Now, in an effort to further differentiate itself from the iPod and perhaps generate a bit more interest among the masses, Microsoft is reportedly talking to talent agencies and production studios in Hollywood in hopes of licensing some exclusive video content for the Zune - not just traditional programs such as sitcoms, but also "nonconventional" programming that could capitalize on the device's social networking platform.
While Zune exclusives may sound like a good idea on the surface, I seriously doubt this is something that's going to convince users to buy a Zune instead of an iPod, let alone entice studios to associate their content exclusively with a player that holds roughly 4 percent of the market. Whether Microsoft can pull it off however remains to be seen.