MSN Embracing Content Again

In an echo of MSN’s early days, Microsoft will offer exclusive TV-like programs on MSN. The initiative, called MSN Originals, is part of a new effort to increase the amount of editorial and multimedia content on MSN, including original programming as well as user-created and partner-provided material. However, Microsoft is unlikely to invest in content on the scale it did in the 1990s. Instead, Microsoft will focus its online efforts primarily on Windows Live services, which do not feature original or licensed content, but rather encourage users to create and compile their own content from around the Web.

(For an in-depth look at Windows Live, see “Understanding Windows Live“.)

Why Try Again?

When MSN started in 1995, Microsoft believed that exclusive original content would help draw users to the service. To this end, Microsoft invested heavily in original content, founding a cable TV network with NBC (MSNBC), starting an online political magazine called Slate, and creating exclusive online “shows,” such as 475 Madison (a drama about an advertising agency) and Project: Watchfire (about UFOs), that combined video, interactive, and static elements.