Coming Soon to a Phone Near You

How many of you remember when the only way to watch tv was to tune in one of three (or four) stations at a prescribed time, watch the commercial breaks, and make sure you had your snacks and bathroom breaks accounted for the the and phone off the hook?

Ok, things have obviously changed. Of course we have cable which means hundreds of choices. And we’ve got DVRs, which means we can record and watch our favorite shows when we want. Full seasons of most popular shows are now available on DVD shortly after airing. And as you’re probably aware, you can download very recent episodes of such shows as 24 and Lost from iTunes or Google Videos to play back on your computer or iPod.

You might not have been aware that now, they’re actually producing shows meant for replay on your mobile phone! Enter the “mobisode.”

According to Wikipedia, “Mobisode is a term trademarked by Fox Broadcasting Company for a broadcast television episode specially made for viewing on a mobile telephone screen and usually of short duration (from one to three minutes).

“The arrival of third-generation (3G) cellular services has made the broadcasting and viewing of video footage a feasible commercial proposition.

“In November 2004, FOX announced that it would start to make mobisodes for broadcasting on the Vodafone and Verizon networks. The first of these was 24: Conspiracy, a spin-off of the action-suspense drama 24. In April 2006, FOX began releasing mobisodes of Prison Break: Proof of Innocence, a spin-off of Prison Break.”

Like “zipper,” a term fiercely but hopelessly defended as a trademark, not a generic, “mobisode” is rapidly becoming the term of choice to refer to any episode of a regular tv program designed and produced for “air” via mobile phone. The latest noteworthy entrant is ABC’s Lost Video Diaries. Held up due to disputes over compensation for actors and directors, the mobisodes are slated to begin downloading some time this year. While Fox has created other spin-offs of popular series, the mobisodes did not involve the principle cast and production unit. Lost, breaking ground as ever, has changed all that by making the mobisodes additions to, rather than spin-offs of, the original show.

Can mobimercials be far behind?

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