After months of working to enhance the Zune experience, Microsoft introduced on Monday new software features to the Zune online store, expanding its content with video titles from COMEDY CENTRAL, FUNimation Entertainment, MTV, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon, Starz Media, Turner Broadcasting, UFC, VH1 and others.

NBC decided to team up with Microsoft’s Zune after breaking up with Apple Inc.’s iTunes last year, due to an unresolved pricing issue (according to Apple’s version, NBC wanted to increase the price for each episode, while according to NBC’s version, what they wanted was to offer customers a wider range of options).

“Partnering with Zune will allow us to develop innovative content offerings for their customers, including flexible pricing and packaging options beginning this fall,” JB Perrette, president of NBC Universal Digital Distribution, said in a statement. “NBC Universal is excited to offer our hit television shows to Zune customers.”

As of this week, Zune customers will be able to choose from 800 downloadable episodes, including popular titles such as COMEDY CENTRAL’s “South Park,” MTV’s “The Hills,” NBC’s “The Office” or “Heroes,” SCI FI Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica,” Starz’s “Ghost in the Shell,” UFC’s “The Ultimate Fighter” or VH1’s “Rock of Love.”

Customers will be charged 160 Microsoft Points (the equivalent of $1.99) for each episode at launch. NBC said the deal with Microsoft is actually what they’ve been looking for, considering Microsoft’s flexibility on pricing issues.

The Zune online store offers customers over 3.5 million tracks (most of which are in MP3 format), 800 television shows, 4,800 music videos and 3,500 audio and video podcasts. With the help of the Zune Pass subscription, consumers will be able to see what their friends are listening to via the Zune store (through Zune Cards, which are in fact snapshots of the music they are playing on their Zune).

“Consumers want more than the traditional transactional model of an online music store plus portable device,” said Chris Stephenson, general manager of Global Marketing for Zune at Microsoft. “Zune is putting the strong combination of an online music community together with subscription to deliver a new experience centered on music discovery that’s good for consumers, artists and the industry. This approach exposes consumers to music they might not have otherwise tried, keeps them coming back, and gives them purchasing options that suit their preferences.”