Zune seeks a few good studios

Microsoft is said to be on the hunt for studios to provide exclusive content for the Zune media player.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Microsoft officials have been visiting with studios and talent agencies recently in hopes of securing a deal to provide the player with video content.

Originally hailed as Microsoft’s answer to the iPod, the Zune has failed to emerge as a credible threat to its Apple counterpart. Microsoft has sold just two million of the players since its 2006 launch.

One of the main reasons credited for the iPod’s continued dominance of the market is the iTunes store. The Apple service allows users to download and transfer both music and video onto the iPod easily.

Microsoft reportedly hopes to counter this by securing the rights to exclusive content that Apple would not be able to license and distribute through iTunes. The company may also look to take advantage of the Zune’s wireless networking features, which have not yet proven to be a major selling point.

“What we would be looking to do with any form of original content is the added component that Zune could provide that iTunes or any competing service couldn’t,” Zune director of entertainment development Richard Winn told The Hollywood Reporter.

“The thing we’ve all been looking for is, ‘What can we do that is a little more interesting than just looking at a piece of video?’”