• by Wayne Friedman , December 16, 2005

Joining a number of other TV content providers, HBO has struck a deal with Cingular's cell phone video service, Cingular Video. HBO will be offering two- to four-minute clips of shows like "The Sopranos"--similar to other mobile content deals--like the one Fox made with Sprint.

But HBO will also offer exclusive made-for-mobile content. It has already signed to mobile content deals with Sarah Jessica Parker, Bob Costas, Bryant Gumbel, and the production team behind "Entourage."

Cingular hasn't set a price or a start date. However, its consumers will need to pay for Cingular mobile service--as well as a $19.95 per-month MediaNet subscription--before deciding on either HBO Mobile or HBO Family Mobile.

Although the deal is exclusive, HBO could still do its own full-length video Apple iTunes deal--like the deal Walt Disney Co./ABC put together with iTunes.

Cingular reaches 52.3 million U.S. subscribers, which is similar enough to a medium-sized cable network--and more than good enough for HBO, which reaches 30 million traditional cable subscribers.