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Fox Mobile Entertainment Launches Mobizzo; New Consumer Destination For Mobile Content; Mobizzo to Offer Content from Hot Fox Brands Including ''Family Guy,'' ''Napoleon Dynamite,'' ''Ice Age: The Meltdown''HOLLYWOOD --(Business Wire)-- Feb. 27, 2006 -- Plus Games, Music and General Entertainment Content from a Variety of Media Companies News Corporation's Fox Mobile Entertainment today announced the launch of Mobizzo, a comprehensive new destination for mobile content. The first such venture by a major media company, Mobizzo (www.mobizzo.com) aggregates a slate of diverse content - games, music, general entertainment and more - from across News Corp.'s worldwide divisions, as well as from other media companies and up-and-coming talent, all in one place. Mobizzo was formed by Fox Mobile Entertainment, the mobile entertainment pioneer that took the industry by storm with American Idol text voting and invented the now ubiquitous industry term Mobisode(TM), which led with the "24:Conspiracy" series. "The mobile market is exploding and it makes perfect sense for a media company like ours to create a real content destination for the billions of cell phone users around the world," said News Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer, Peter Chernin. "From Fox television and movie properties, to original content produced directly for the mobile audience, we think we can create a unique and compelling mobile entertainment offering and deliver it directly to the consumer." Starting today on Cingular and T-Mobile phones and available soon on most U.S. carriers, Mobizzo offers a vast selection of exclusive content for download, including: -- Collections from popular Fox-brands, such as "Family Guy," "American Dad," "Napoleon Dynamite" and the upcoming feature film "Ice Age: The Meltdown;" -- Products from well-known and up-and-comer artists, like mobile art from Shepard Fairey, known for his Obey artwork, and Mark Mahoney, celebrity-tattoo artist from Shamrock Social Club Tattoos; and -- An assortment of games, music and images from top music labels, such as Warner Music, global game producers including I-Play and Airborne and other media sources. To generate consumer awareness, Fox Mobile Entertainment will launch a multi-million dollar consumer marketing campaign, including television, print, radio and outdoor, as well as viral marketing and it plans to roll the service out globally later in the year. "With the success of having sold millions of mobile downloads already, we knew there was a considerable demand for mobile applications," commented Fox Mobile Entertainment President Lucy Hood. "We believe Mobizzo will prove to be a truly unique proposition for consumers and mobile content providers alike; it's an innovative virtual place for fans to find their favorites and enjoy the benefits of competitive pricing and excellent customer service when shopping for mobile content." Get it in a snap Mobile users will be able to access Mobizzo content through one of two easy-to-reach channels: -- Logging on to www.mobizzo.com -- Entering a memorable short numeric code on their mobile keypads Competitively priced - easy to use Consumers can download content from Mobizzo for a small fee charged directly to their monthly mobile phone bill. Pricing for the various products will be competitive with a la carte offerings ranging from $1.99-$2.49 and monthly subscription plans averaging $5.99 per month. A hallmark of the service will be its exceptional customer service, according to Hood. "We intend to provide the best and most accessible user experience around," she said. "This is one area that will immediately differentiate Mobizzo from other purveyors of mobile applications." "We strive to make it easy for our customers to get the content they want wherever they find it," said Michael Gallelli, director of product marketing, T-Mobile USA. "With Mobizzo and T-Mobile's support they are now just clicks away from terrific entertainment content to personalize their T-Mobile phones." Fox Mobile Entertainment already has licensing and distribution deals for Fox's top brands with the world's most powerful carriers that reach nearly 2 billion cell phone subscribers worldwide -- including 200 million in the US. Led by industry innovator Lucy Hood, the unit created American Idol's text message voting system and the Mobisode, the now pervasive term for short episodes of programming designed exclusively for transmission and viewing on cellular telephones. To date, the unit has distributed four series and 200 Mobisodes to mobile via Vodafone and Verizon, including "24:Conspiracy," an original series inspired by the critically acclaimed television drama "24." "24:Conspiracy" can be seen in 25 countries and has been translated into six different languages. News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of December 31, 2005 of approximately US$55 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$24 billion. News Corporation is a diversified international media and entertainment company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin. |
