The launch of Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 will change the way we use devices and the internet.  It opens up a new class of opportunities for us to reimagine all of our products and services including MSN. MSN with more than 480 million visitors per month is the top site in 27 markets and remains one of the most popular media destinations on the Internet.

 

When we saw what Windows 8 and IE 10 could make possible, we saw possibilities we had never before imagined.  We thought deeply about how you could interact with MSN in an increasingly touch and tablet-friendly world.  We envisioned something completely new and refreshing that would surprise and delight.  Something built from the ground up that harnesses the new technical capabilities in Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10.

 

Introducing MSN for Windows 8

Staying in the know just got easier and faster. Designed exclusively for Windows 8, the all new MSN for Windows 8 experience will be the first thing you discover when you launch Internet Explorer 10 on your new device.

 

Available October 26th, MSN for Windows 8 gives you a place where you can be informed, decompress and let your curiosity reign. From the updated user interface to blazing fast speed and comprehensive content, MSN showcases what it does best – instant access to the information you want.

 

 

Fluid Design

At first glance, you will notice the new look and feel. The new MSN is a full-screen experience that is clean, simple and built for touch. Whether you’re reading daily headlines or catching up on the latest gossip, the experience is intuitive and consistent. The content flows to channels without interrupting the visual layout, and you’ll know what stories are most important, just by viewing the size of the story tile.

 

 

News You Want, Faster

MSN for Windows 8 is built for speed. Because Internet Explorer 10 was designed to take advantage of the system architecture of Windows 8, rendering complex page layouts and high resolution images is faster and more fluid.  Now you can easily view images, slideshows and videos, without compromising the overall experience. The result is a cleaner more “app-like” experience that allows you use the Flip Ahead feature to swiftly jump from article to article with a simple gesture.  The pages render twice as fast as the classic MSN web experience. You can use the Snap feature to snap a given page to the side of screen – say your favorite stock- while you engage in another program or page.

Comprehensive and Consistent Content

We all want to know what’s happening in the world. In fact, more than 90 percent of us who use the internet say the need to feel informed is our top priority for going online. With years of delivering award winning editorial, MSN will continue to be the premiere destination for keeping people informed and entertained. 

 

MSN for Windows 8 brings you trusted, world-class news from a variety of sources, including new content relationships with the Associated Press and Reuters.  We’re are also introducing MSN News which is designed to deliver the news you’re looking for,  how you’re looking for it.  It will deliver short succinct news bites from 300-500 words providing you with quick snap-shots of information. Whether you’re reading news, sports or money, the experience is intuitive and consistent across categories and channels.

 

Availability

The experience will be available on October 26th, but to learn more check back here or follow us:

• MSN is on Twitter at http://twitter.com/m​sn.
• MSN is on Facebook at http://www.facebook.​com/msn.

-          Bob Visse, General Manager, MSN

 

To kick-off coverage of the London Games, MSN and FOX are teaming with former Olympians turned correspondents Maurice Greene, Amy Van Dyken, Dominique Dawes and Christian Laettner to host a live one hour twitter chat. On Thursday July 26th from 11:30-12:30 p.m. PT, simply follow the team and hashtag #MSNOlympics to join the conversation:

• @MSN
• @FOXSports
• @laettnerbball
• @amyvandyken
• @dominiquedawes
• @mauricegreene

Maurice Greene (@mauricegreene), two-time Olympic gold medalist and former world record holder in the 100-meter dash, will be tweeting live about the dedication it takes to be an Olympian. 

Amy Van Dyken (@amyvandyken), a six-time Olympic gold medalist will be on hand to answer your questions about swimming and representing the United States. 

Olympic gymnast and gold medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Games, Dominique Dawes (@dominiquedawes), will also be on hand to field your questions and comments about what’s in store for gymnastics at this year’s games. 

Finally, Christian Laettner (@laettnerbball), member of the 1992 Barcelona Games “Dream Team,” will be fielding your basketball questions in real-time.

We are thrilled to partner with FOXSports.com to offer comprehensive coverage of the upcoming games on MSN.  We hope our hundreds of millions of customers will enjoy commentary and coverage from notable experts and past Olympic heroes, as well as breaking news and trend coverage on the MSN homepage and our new msnNOW site.

 

- The MSN Team

 

Today we are announcing the divestiture of Microsoft’s 50 percent share in Msnbc.com to our partner in that joint venture NBC.  Since we formed Msnbc.com it has become a leader in the online news industry – and we couldn’t be more proud of the terrific team that delivers news every day to the millions of readers on MSN. As part of this transaction, Msnbc will be fully owned and operated by NBC.

 

The agreement we reached with NBC releases Microsoft from its exclusivity with NBC, which will allow us to not only continue featuring content from NBC on MSN as we do today, but also provide Microsoft new flexibility to deliver fresh and innovative news products across Bing and MSN. 

 

The pace, frequency and ways people are consuming news has changed dramatically over the past few years.   People expect to see multiple perspectives and sources when they consume news, and they expect to receive news in real time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These changes coupled with the explosion of social sharing presents a tremendous opportunity to add value to an increasingly noisy media landscape.  

 

With today’s announcement, we will be able to provide a broader perspective on what’s happening in the world by offering more original and third-party content for the new Bing News app for Windows 8, a cornerstone application and entry point for search on our latest operating system.

 

In the fall, we will be delivering a new MSN news experience.  It will be singularly focused on online consumers, harnessing real-time signals produced by social networks using the power of search to deliver breaking updates based on relevant topics.  MSN will utilize advanced technologies to mine real-time information from the web to keep users constantly up to date and in the know on the latest breaking news and trends across the Internet.   The result for MSN users will be more news sources, more perspectives, and more real-time time news. MSN will focus on creating a world-class news experience targeted to today’s online news consumers. 

 

With MSN’s massive reach of more than 520 million monthly unique visitors, and Bing’s product roadmap, we are as excited about what the future holds as we ever have been.

 

-          Bob Visse, General Manager, Microsoft Online Services Division

 

Starting today, people in the US will be able to take advantage of Fandango, the nation’s #1 ticketing service, on MSN Entertainment and MSN Movies. Fandango is now the official online and mobile movie ticketer for MSN Movies (http://movies.msn.co​m/) and MSN Entertainment (http://entertainment​.msn.com).    

 

Now when you’re checking out movies on MSN Entertainment and MSN Movies alongside reviews, trailers and overviews you can see where the film is playing in your area. Then in a matter of clicks you can purchase tickets without leaving MSN.  With Fandango serving tickets to nearly 20,000 screens nationwide, odds are the movie is playing at a theater near you.

 

Check it out and let us know what you think.

 

-       The MSN Entertainment and MSN Movie Teams

 

Today, we’re excited to announce that MSN has officially transitioned MSN Health to MSN Healthy Living, featuring a fresh design and new emphasis on wellness content that helps readers live life more healthfully. The new experience features content from expert contributors as well as trusted sources like Prevention, Health.com, HealthDay, EatingWell, Self, and more. MSN Healthy Living is the online destination for people to connect with timely and relevant trends in wellness topics, as well as expert advice on diseases, health conditions and caregiving.

MSN Healthy Living combines a vibrant visual design with health-related content covering topics from managing stress and eating right to sleeping well and living a more active, productive life. As well, it continues to be a source for information on specific health conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Contributors include independent health experts and bloggers who share their tips on empowering readers to turn goals for living well into reality. 

 

MSN Healthy Living uncovers and explains important health and wellness issues in clear terms and keeps readers up to date on breaking health news. Seamless social sharing allows readers to share information and tips with friends on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.  

 

Check out MSN Healthy Living and start living your best life today.

 

-   Kim Lowe, Editor in Chief

 

The lighting of the Olympic torch in London this summer is 100 days away. To mark the occasion, MSN and FOXSports.com are launching a special section (http://msn.foxsport​s.com/olympics) devoted to coverage of the London Games. 

 

The section will feature articles, current and former Olympian profiles, videos and photo galleries.  FOXSports.com award-winning contributors including Jason Whitlock, Mark Kriegel, Jen Floyd Engel, and Bill Reiter will be updating the site from London for the entirety of the Games.   In addition, U.S. Olympic heroes Maurice Greene (track & field), Amy Van Dyken (swimming), Dominique Dawes (gymnastics) and Christian Laettner (basketball) have been recruited to bring their unique perspective with special video features.

 

To kick things off, Maurice Greene, two-time Olympic gold medalist and former world record holder in the 100-meter dash, shares “Train like a Champion” a video series in which he’ll explore the dedication it takes to be an Olympian. 

Amy Van Dyken, a six-time Olympic gold medalist provides her take from with interviews with stars of swimming.  Olympic gymnast and gold medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Games, Dominique Dawes, offers “up close” interviews featuring various sports. 

Christian Laettner, member of the 1992 Barcelona Games “Dream Team,” reports and analyzes USA Basketball’s hope to repeat as Olympic champions.

We are thrilled to partner with FoxSports.com to offer comprehensive coverage of the upcoming Olympics on MSN.  We hope our hundreds of millions of customers will enjoy commentary and coverage from notable experts and past Olympic heroes, as well as breaking news and trend coverage on the MSN homepage and our new msnNOW site.

 

- Rob Bennett, Executive Producer MSN

  

Today, Spotify unveiled the Spotify Play Button which allows you to launch and listen to songs from any website that has a Spotify Play Button.   MSN and BermanBraun Interactive are pleased to be a part of the experience with Wonderwall (www.wonderwall.com) serving as the official entertainment and celebrity launch destination for the button. Now when you visit Wonderwall, you will be able to listen to entire songs while viewing galleries.  If you are a Spotify user, you simply click the play button to go dive into the full artist experience. If you don't have Spotify installed, you will be invited to download and try the free experience.

 

Check it out and let us know what you think.

 

-       James Fitch, MSN Entertainment and Sports

 

 

Following the critically acclaimed November release of Ceremonials, Florence + the Machine is kicking off the US leg of the tour in Santa Barbara, California this Saturday. As our goal is to “keep you in the know” about what’s happening in your world of music, supporting the tour is a natural fit.  To help celebrate, we are rolling out exclusive content and the chance for one lucky fan and friend to meet Florence in person.

Win a Chance for You and a Friend to Meet Florence in Las Vegas

Starting at 12 p.m. PT today, we will be tweeting a Florence related tweet from the @MSN twitter handle.  Those of you who retweet will be entered into a sweepstakes (one entry per handle) for you and friend to see Florence + the Machine in Las Vegas.  The grand prize includes airfare for two to Las Vegas, two nights' accommodations, tickets to the Florence + the Machine concert including the after party where you can meet Florence in person.  For contest details please click here.

 

Watch Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Footage  

Check out exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Florence + The Machine at music.msn.com/Floren​ce.

 

Download Wallpaper and Screensaver

Personalize your desktop, with Florence + The Machine wallpaper and screensaver pack.   Click here to download the pack and see Florence Welch in high definition.

Check Out and Share Florence + The Machine Posters on Facebook.com/MSN

As a part of the tour, MSN has commissioned both famous and up-and-coming artists to create 7 original posters based on Florence +the Machine lyrics.  Starting next week, each of the unique posters, will be featured exclusively on the MSN Facebook page.  You can visit the page, judge the posters and share your favorites with friends.

 

-          Erika Sommer, MSN

-          Ingrid  Comacho, MSN