• by Ross Fadner , February 28, 2005

Watching television on cell phones? Atlanta, Ga.-based SmartVideo Technologies recently launched a video service for wireless phones with several content distribution partnerships.

In January, SmartVideo announced content partnerships with NBC Universal, ABC News, and The Weather Channel. The company also added DIC Entertainment's DIC Kids network, which has a library of over 3,200 popular cartoons. Subscribers currently have access to 12 channels in all, but more sports and entertainment content deals are anticipated from ABC News parent The Walt Disney Co., according to SmartVideo executives.

Content providers preserve their intellectual property rights to all programming content and advertising revenue. All ads that normally run on these channels will also be shown to SmartVideo users, but SmartVideo doesn't receive a cut of the advertising revenue.

However, Richard Bennett, SmartVideo's CEO, expects the company to sell its own ad units someday. "Once we have half a million subscribers," he says, "advertisers will start to focus on how to get at that audience." SmartVideo doesn't have a significant enough audience to solicit ad dollars yet, but he expects to have 150,000 subscribers within six months to a year.

SmartVideo uses Microsoft's WindowsMedia mobile platform to deliver streaming television content. As part of its distribution agreement, the global software giant will help SmartVideo market its mobile TV packages to WindowsMedia Mobile's 9 million users.

The SmartVideo application is a 35KB applet that users can download on their phones or on the Web at SmartVideo.com. The program streams TV programming at an average rate of 15 frames per second to low bandwidth devices operating on all 2.5 generation data networks (G) and Edge cellular networks, and will be able to deliver to future 3G networks as well. SmartVideo is available for select cellular Internet-enabled SmartPhone owners from most major U.S. carriers.

SmartVideo's chief competitor in mobile video delivery is MobiTV, which rolled out a similar service last year through a partnership with Sprint PCS, amassing over 300,000 subscribers in its first year.

Verizon's wireless video gambit But does anyone really want to watch video clips, play games, and view short films via a wireless phone? Verizon Wireless thinks so. In fact the wireless provider has begun marketing its 3G broadband multimedia service for selected model handsets from LG, Samsung, and UTStarcom.

The wireless multimedia content is delivered via Verizon's high-speed network. V Cast customers can stream and play back audio and video clips using Microsoft's Windows Media format. Microsoft says that video clips on V Cast are streamed at 15 frames per second.

V Cast wireless multimedia content is available to Verizon Wireless customers for $15 a month, on top of their regular calling plan. The 3G handsets come preloaded with PacketVideo's media player and content catalog. The PacketVideo player integrates Windows Media playback and offers rewind and fast-forward functions to navigate between video clips.

Subscribers can also download clips for localized playback. V Cast subscribers will be able to set their preferences to receive their favorite content, receive short message alerts as new content becomes available, and view new video clips from their favorite genres.

So far, Verizon has an impressive lineup of content providers for the V Cast service. The service features video clips from "Sesame Street," NBC Universal, E! Entertainment Television, Warner Music, CNN, and ESPN.

Verizon's deal with NBC Universal offers V Cast subscribers access to content including breaking news, interview excerpts from "The Today Show" and "Meet the Press." The CNN content, offered through CNNtoGo Video, includes a three-minute video newscast that's updated each hour, as well as 30 video news clips updated at various times during the day.