Following the critically acclaimed November release of Ceremonials, Florence + the Machine will be embarking on a 15 city tour presented by MSN.  As our goal is to “keep you in the know” about what’s happening in your world, supporting the tour is a natural fit. 

Starting on April 15th at the Santa Barbara Bowl with stops at The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (April 15 and 22) and one show at New York’s Radio City Music Hall (May 8), Florence + the Machine’s U.S. tour stops are as follows: 

With recent appearances on Saturday Night Live, GMA, X-Factor, The View, VH 1 Divas and Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years Eve, Florence fans will at last get to enjoy the star in a triumphant return to the live stage.  Florence + The Machine are expected to perform songs from CEREMONIALS as well as songs from her multi-platinum debut album LUNGS.

For more on the Florence + The Machine U.S. tour, please visit ttp://music.msn.com/​florence.

--Rob Bennett, partner of network programming for MSN

MSN Mobile has been redesigned to keep you informed, engaged and entertained regardless of where you are. You can now check top news and entertainment stories more quickly when you’re on the go with our latest release of MSN Mobile. Scan MSN videos, photo galleries and lifestyle content, right from the MSN Mobile home page. Need an umbrella? Want a stock quote? Curious about the score of tonight’s game? Simply swipe down to see the updated modules. You can even find new apps.  MSN Mobile keeps you in the know, when you’re on the go. Just type msn.com into your mobile browser to check it out.

Improved Navigation

Whether you’re looking for the latest Hollywood news or want to watch that video your friend told you about, all you have to do is swipe or tap through the new navigation bar. The top MSN categories - news, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, videos, money and autos are easy to access on your phone.

At a glance, you’ll be able to see the top news stories, current weather or check out your horoscope. We’ll also display the latest sports headlines and scores.  No more digging through menus or multiple screens.

Watching Videos and Reading Articles

One of the best things about having a smartphone is the large screen. MSN Mobile has optimized our videos, articles and photo galleries to display nicely on your mobile device. Tap an article from our Entertainment or Lifestyle channels and we’ll display the mobile optimized version. Videos will play in both portrait and landscape. Want a larger view? Just hold your phone sideways to get the full picture.

Money and Quotes

Wondering how your 401(k) is doing or if the Dow or NASDAQ is up or down? Just scroll down to the new Money & Quotes section and you’ll see the top market indices displayed in-line with the news. To the right of the S&P index, you’ll see a new button that will allow you to add your own stocks and track them right on MSN Mobile’s home screen.

Now that you’ve seen the improvements, getting our updated site on your smartphone is easy, just type msn.com in your browser! Don’t forget to leave us a comment below and tell us what you think.

Enjoy!

-MSN Mobile Team

To celebrate life’s heroic adventure and showcase the spirit of the open road, Chevrolet created a global filmmaker contest in which the winner will be featured during the 2012 Super Bowl. To reach and connect with its audience and house and showcase the videos, Chevrolet chose Microsoft Advertising to build the campaign. 

The Chevrolet Route 66 hub  will be promoted across multiple Microsoft sites, including MSN, MSN Video and Bing Video. We’re also sweetening the pot of Chevrolet’s contest and giving the person who shares the most videos $10,000! Think of it as gas money!

The hub will be localized in nine countries – the US, UK, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, India, China, Germany and France.  The Bing Translator API  is integrated into the experience to allow participants to take part in the commentary no matter where they are in the world.  

Read more here and congratulations to Microsoft Advertising and Chevrolet for creating a hot rod of a campaign!Read more here and congratulations to Microsoft Advertising and Chevrolet for creating a hot rod of a campaign! 

- The MSN Team

On December 25th, Disney’s epic film War Horse hits theatres. The War Horse Journey on MSN follows the extraordinary adventure of a horse named Joey as he moves through the war, inspiring and connecting the lives of all he meets. You can follow his path to explore War Horse content, travel the landscape of the film through time, and interact with exclusive materials including content from the British Imperial War Museum.

An exclusive partnership between War Horse, MSN, Bing Maps, Shoothill and The Imperial British War Museum allows deep exploration of the film while showcasing the landscape of the war and time of WW1 through Joey’s perspective.

Check out the sites and go see the movie on the 25th.

-          Lisa Gurry, MSN

The time leading to New Year's Day is an opportunity to reflect on the passing year. Throughout the last weeks of December and into January, MSN is presenting “Year in Review,” a network wide showcase of award-winning editorial content exploring the best, worst, and most notable moments of 2011.

Highlights include:

• Top Stories and Photos: What were the year’s best and worst choices when dining out? Which stories topped Facebook statuses this year? What were the most popular newborn baby names?   We have packaged all this and more with a comprehensive set of articles and images that capture the year in review.
• MSN Year in Review on Facebook: MSN kept you in the know in 2011.  Now we want to hear your voice about what moments were most memorable to you this year.   Head over to our fan page on Facebook and share your most memorable moments for a chance to win a New Year, New You package worth $5000.
• Original Video: From the top trends, scandals, controversies and sports moments, we’ve created original videos highlighting the stories that had us buzzing – break ups to breakdowns, surprises to celebrations.  
• Wonderwall: The Year in Celebrity News 2011: As 2011 comes to a close, Wonderwall is looking back on the stories that had us buzzing the most. From breakups to breakdowns, surprises to celebrations, Wonderwall showcases the biggest celebrity moments of the past year.

-          The MSN Team

Finding and purchasing a car can be time consuming and sometimes stressful -- especially when you’re in the dealership negotiating. MSN Autos’ mobile experiences were built to give you the tools for making the best decision on a new or used car, directly from your smartphone. Before starting your car search, get tips on how to value and sell your current car, find out what’s coming in the next model year, or watch a video on the best road trip cars. MSN Autos is available on your mobile browser here or as an app on your Windows Phone, iPhone, or Android smartphone.

Find a Car by Make or Model or Criteria

If the leather seats and moon roof on the rental car you drove were the best part of your last vacation, use MSN Autos to prepare before you set foot on the lot.                                                                

Explore cars with MSN Autos’ “car finder” where you can tailor your search in a wide variety of ways:

• Make & Model
• Criteria (price, new/used, fuel economy, body style, horsepower, safety, etc.)
• Category/Vehicle Profile (economical commuter cars, affordable performance cars, fuel-efficient SUVs, etc.)

Not sure if a used price is fair? Give yourself some bargaining power by searching used cars in MSN Autos and doing a price comparison on the spot. Also check out multiple angles of the car in Photos to decide which features are must-haves. Read more details about the individual model’s features in Specs, including information on price, fuel economy, reliability, and safety. Comb through the expert, user, and video reviews of performance in the Reviews section. Look at similar cars in the same range in Competitors and find out what you might be missing.

If a particular model strikes your fancy, tag it in the Favorites section and you can return to them time and again on your phone. Or, log in with your Windows Live ID, and your favorite cars also will be accessible across devices on MSN Autos.

Feel more confident when researching cars with the power of one of the largest automotive research sites backing you up.

News

Read the latest car-related news articles about recently released models and noteworthy developments in the auto space. Also, we’ve hunted down the most interesting blog posts and videos and aggregated them all in one place for your convenience.

Photos and Video

View the hottest cars on the block handpicked by MSN Autos editors in a slideshow, optimized for your mobile device. Flip through when you need some eye candy, when you’re bored in line, or when you want to check out the newest, sexiest car on the block.

Happy car hunting!

- MSN Autos Team

Last week’s Xbox 360 update brought expanded voice control features to the Xbox LIVE service. Now through the power of Kinect and the intelligence of Bing on Xbox, you can effortlessly search MSN with MSNBC.com  content from your living room by using the sound of your voice or the wave of your hand. Starting today, you can download the MSN with MSNBC.com  app from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and explore your favorite web videos from MSN on your TV. 

With the MSN with MSNBC.com  app you can explore and watch a wide range of content- including awarding-winning news from Msnbc Digital Network, leading sports programming from FOX Sports, viral videos from StupidVideos and more with the sound of your voice. 

For those who do not have a Kinect for Xbox 360, text search, via the Xbox 360 controller, is available in Xbox LIVE markets. Download the MSN with MSNBC.com app from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and begin exploring and watching your favorite videos today.

Stay in the know with MSN, Msnbc Digital Network and Xbox LIVE!

-       Niko Chauls, MSN Video

People turn to Delish to get the dish on quick and easy recipes, expert tips for planning events, improving meal prep skills, and connecting with their favorite cooking professionals. Today, MSN and Hearst Digital Media are pleased to announce that the experience is getting even better. 

We are re-launching the site with a vibrant new logo and color scheme, simplified navigation and search features, and new advertiser sponsorship options. The changes also integrate HTML5 functionality into the home page video promo player, allowing for multi-platform access via handheld devices and smart phones.  Key improvements for our audience include:

• Efficient navigation – Based on feedback from people who use Delish, streamlined   navigation and the overall user experience.
• HTML5 functionality – The video was rebuilt in HTML5, enhancing mobile browsing capabilities across multiple platforms and handheld devices.
• Upgraded recipe finder – We analyzed data and feedback and learned that visitors often prefer pre-filtered searches. Hence, the recipe finder has been upgraded with search suggestions based on popularity and seasonality, such as quick-and-easy meals, holiday cookies, healthy alternatives, foods kids love and more. 

Since the site launched in October 2008, people have printed out more than 20 million recipes and saved more than 3.5 million recipes to their personal recipe books. According to comScore, Delish.com reaches more than six million unique visitors every month. With today’s  re-launch, the experience gets even better.

New sponsorship capabilities are available on the home page and have been tested over several months. These include a custom advertorial module, which can be designed as pure text, graphics or a combination of both. This feature can also be cross-promoted with the site’s existing content. Another module located just below the HTML5 promo player provides an opportunity for advertisers to feature their logos and expert content.

To learn more advertising possibilities with Delish visit: http://advertising.m​icrosoft.com/delish

Bon appetit!

-   Rob Bennett, General Manager, MSN Programming