• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, April 5, 2006

In response to the growing demand for mobile advertising, MSNBC.com today is expected to launch a new ad-supported, video-heavy mobile service for news junkies.

The service will support mobile banner ads as well as streaming video ads, said Dan Mucha, manager of business strategy and development at MSNBC.com. Initially, Microsoft's Windows Mobile has exclusive ad sponsorship rights, but Mucha said additional marketers want to advertise on mobile devices. "People who advertise on our Web site are interested in devoting more of the ad spend to mobile." (Microsoft co-owns MSNBC along with NBC Universal.)

MSNBC has tapped technology provider Action Engine Corporation to ensure the service's faster and easier content access. Action Engine's platform is "browserless," which requires fewer keystrokes for faster response times for consumers who download the service. In other words, users can search through a generic list of content offering--sports, local news, national news--from their phone without having to communicate with MSNBC.com's network. Only once they have made their decision will a request be sent out for a content feed.

Offerings include headline and business news videos, slide shows like the publisher's popular "Week in Pictures," and video from "The Today Show" and other NBC News properties. News articles can also be saved on one's phone for later offline viewing.

The service requires consumers to have a data plan with their mobile operators and an Internet-enabled device. And initially, only phones with Windows Mobile platforms will support the necessary Action Engine software.

The software will be synced with Java and other programs in less than three months, according to Anne Baker, director of marketing, Action Engine Corporation.

Online ads promoting the service were created by Universal McCann and will, at first, reside only on MSNBC's site.