MobiTV has extended its deal with NBC Universal to sell programs of its primetime shows as on-demand downloads, as well as launching some new channels. The downloads will cost from $1.99 for a 24-hour viewing period (although the carriers will be able to change this), and the shows on offer include current seasons of The Office and Heroes from NBC, USA’s Monk, and SCI FI’s ’Battlestar Galactica. The on-demand service will also include several free ad-supported shows from within the base subscription package of MobiTV, such as NBC’s highschool football drama Friday Night Lights, Bravo’s new reality series Shear Genius and the docu-drama Work Out. Spanish producer Telemundo will offer full-length episodes of some of its telenovelas and select video clips from its popular morning talk show Cada Dia, while bilingual cable network mun2 will offer full episodes of The Chicas Project and select clips from shows including Vivo, One Nation Under Hip-Hop, and The mun2 Shift. For the broadcasters this is priced well enough to compete with iTunes and could open a new revenue stream. For MobiTV it could see its ARPU increasing as its customers download the shows they missed. There is some question over the level of demand for full-length episodes on mobile devices, but MobiTV’s customers are—by definition—interested in that sort of thing.
The five new ad-supported channels will launch in the second quarter, and offer select short form programming from Bravo, SCI FI Channel, USA Network, Telemundo and mun2. (release)
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