BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhuanet) -- Sony Pictures
Television will launch the first movie network on mobile phones in the U.S.
by a deal with AT&T and MediaFLO USA, media reported Tuesday
The channel, to be known as PIX, will be stocked with
such titles as "Ghostbusters," "Philadelphia" and "Stand by Me."
With AT&T on board, PIX will be available on the
biggest mobile provider in the U.S., though the company has yet to disclose the
price of the FLO tier. With PIX a part of FLO, Sony allows AT&T to
differentiate its service from Verizon Wireless, which has been carrying FLO for
the past year.
PIX will be available alongside nonexclusive mobile
channels including NBC, CBS, ESPN and Nickelodeon, which offer altered forms of
their traditional linear programming lineups via multicast transmission.
Films will run on PIX for a month, with additions
coming weekly. Other titles coming to PIX include "Memento," "The Karate Kid,"
"Layer Cake," "Resident Evil" and "Roxanne."
Although the prospect of viewers sitting in front of
a two-inch screen for two hours seems dim, Berger noted that the objective isn't
to keep people watching for the duration of a film.
"We recognize that people are on the go with their
mobile phone and coming and going," said Eric Berger, vp mobile entertainment at
Sony Pictures Television. "This isn't for people looking to view a movie for the
first time. It's OK to miss the beginning."
Sony always has been bullish on films via mobile. The
studio also is the first in the U.S. to embed full-length titles on memory cards
for handsets.
(Agencies)