Customers of Vodafone Group plc in Europe, Australia and New Zealand will have access to content from the TV show “The Simpsons” under a new deal announced between the global operator and THQ Inc. The deal comes just a week after RCR Wireless News reported that the Fox TV network was planning a major new wireless effort centered on the well-known television family.
Vodafone said it will offer ring tones, animated picture messages, wall paper and screen savers beginning in November. Games will follow, Vodafone said.
Fox worked with “The Simpsons” writers and animators to create specialized content for its wireless offerings, said Jim Beddows, Fox’s vice president of wireless entertainment, last week. He added that “The Simpsons” wireless services will first be launched in Asian and European markets and are scheduled to be available in the United States sometime next year. The content will be organized around character locales, like Moe’s Bar and will be updated monthly.
Beddows said “The Simpsons”-which this year marked its 15th season-is broadcast throughout the world, and Fox counts 300 million worldwide viewers. Beddows declined to give pricing and distribution details for the U.S. market.
” ‘The Simpsons’, with its worldwide audience, is an important element of our global entertainment strategy,” said Guy Laurence, global marketing director, product and content services at Vodafone. “Vodafone will be first to market with the range of mobile entertainment content in Europe and Australasia, giving our customers the first opportunity to enjoy the antics of ‘The Simpsons’ through their mobile phones, as well as the television show.”
The effort highlights the expanding nature of the wireless data market. As wireless services and technologies evolve, Hollywood companies and other content providers have begun entering the wireless market in greater numbers.
THQ Wireless is a publisher and distributor of games for mobile phones with offices in California, the United Kingdom and Germany.
