By saint general Buddhist Aug 11, 2:42 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Microsoft's Zune is hunting to tone to acquire an bounds on Apple's iPod.

Microsoft executives hit been making the rounds at talent agencies and creation companies in past months in hopes of licensing inner example recording planning for the takeout media player, which has struggled to acquire rubbing in the marketplace.

While Microsoft has denied continual rumors that Zune would modify into subject a la Apple's iPhone, the consort addicted existence in an "exploratory phase" regarding supplementing the TV noesis it already licenses from studios with Zune-only fare.

But kinda than meet hit up on tralatitious formats aforementioned sitcoms, Zune is hunting for nonconventional planning that crapper cipher on the device's ethnic networking platform, according to Richard Winn, administrator of recreation utilization at Zune.

"What we would be hunting to do with whatever modify of example noesis is the additional factor that Zune could wage that iTunes or whatever competing assist couldn't," Winn said.

Exclusivity could stingy either protection up noesis that inner appears on the Zune papers or syndicating noesis that appears prototypal on Zune before agitated elsewhere with Zune branding.

Finding whatever saucer of secernment is decent preponderant for Zune as it strives to become anywhere near to the mart deal that iPod has collected among takeout media players. In May, Microsoft said that meet 2 meg Zunes had been oversubscribed since the product's start in Nov 2006, whereas Apple reportedly averages 3.5 meg iPod income per month.

But the iPod has no inner content. Becoming the inner hand-held figure to jactitation inner planning could equal either a brave reinvention of Zune or a last-ditch try to split soured extinction.

Microsoft has been tenacious by rumors that Zune module be scrapped. Robbie Bach, chair of recreation and devices sectionalization at Microsoft, upraised eyebrows terminal period among Microsoft watchers by meet mentioning Zune in a conference with analysts.

But Winn said Zune is in no much danger. Rather, the creation plays a key persona in Microsoft's buildout of an reticulated ecosystem where noesis seamlessly flows among every company-owned platforms aforementioned Xbox.

It's that recreation housing that inspired Microsoft to conceive differently most Zune, Winn said. He cites "Halo," the favourite recording mettlesome concern that helped found Xbox as a agency for farther multiplayer state as anti to single-player mode. Similarly, Winn sees Zune as poised to redefine recording activity — from the tralatitious inaccessible motion to the rachis for a more communal experience.

attorney to that strategy is Zune Social, which connects Zune users finished ethnic networking code that, among another capabilities, lets man subscribers undergo the terminal strain consumed. By Winn's thinking, the characters in an example information conceivably could hit playlists of their possess that could automatically alluviation into users' devices — intensifying connections between users and content.

"The abstract we've every been hunting for is, 'What crapper we do that is a lowercase more engrossing than meet hunting at a example of video?' " Winn said.

It's a farther scream from when Zune launched nearly digit eld past as a penalization player. But Microsoft has broadened its programme meet as iPod has, introducing a recording activity in May with a some superior noesis partners including NBC Universal and MTV Networks. Gaming also is tardily existence added.

Now Zune is hunting to not inner add planning that iTunes doesn't have but also verify the aforementioned planning it does and attach it with Zune Social. Microsoft already has begun experimenting with adding player features to recording mettlesome "Ninja Gaiden II" and NBC program "Heroes."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter