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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, May 15, 2007

ABC offers shows on cell phone

By Gary Levin and Edward C. Baig
USA Today

Get ready for "Grey's Anatomy" on your cell phone.

In a major expansion of mobile media, ABC today will make available episodes of "Grey's," "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and "Ugly Betty" on video-equipped Sprint phones, along with series such as "Hannah Montana" and "Nightline," as well as other ABC newscasts.

The four most-recent episodes of each series can be viewed on demand at no extra charge by subscribers to a $20 monthly data package. Eventually, the shows will include commercials.

ABC was the first to offer full-length TV shows on Apple's iTunes and was an early proponent of its own ad-supported Web-based players. But cell phones mark relatively untapped territory: Aside from CBS' "Jericho," also on Sprint, no other full TV series is available on demand. Instead, carriers such as Verizon offer short clips or broadcast live "channels" that offer series only at specified time periods.

"The phone gives another opportunity for people on the go who aren't interested in buying a show to get them as video on demand," says Anne Sweeney, president of Disney ABC Television Group. Sweeney says viewers who try shows on other platforms often begin watching them on TV as well.

Sprint's push marks an effort to upstage Apple's heavily touted iPhone, due in June through rival AT&T. But users of that new phone must purchase TV shows they want to watch on iTunes and then connect the device to a computer.

"You won't need to buy episodes individually or sync up to your PC to access this kind of content," says Sprint's John Burris

"With the proliferation of technology that allows for time shifting," such as DVRs and online streaming, "that's sort of how people view things now. On-demand is what people expect," says Albert Cheng, executive VP for digital media at Disney ABC. "Why should mobile be any different?"