Entertainment publisher Jamdat Mobile Inc. said it will sell content through RadioShack Corp. outlets in what may be the first major agreement between a brick-and-mortar retail chain and a mobile content provider.
The program, which is expected to be launched in the first half of 2005, will allow customers to browse and purchase Jamdat offerings at RadioShack outlets before downloading content to their handsets. Jamdat, which is noted for its bowling and sports titles, made headlines in October when it became the first big mobile-game publisher to stage an initial public offering.
“This agreement with RadioShack, one of the largest wireless retailers in the U.S., allows us to extend our reach through their vast retail presence,” said Mitch Lasky, Jamdat’s chairman and chief executive office. “This channel of distribution is very strategic for Jamdat. It enhances our retail presence while supporting a goal we share with all our wireless carrier partners-to sell incremental services to satisfied wireless consumers.”
Through its outlets, RadioShack sells wireless service from several providers, including Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, Virgin Mobile and TracFone.
One of the hottest players in the white-hot mobile gaming industry, Jamdat raised nearly $90 million in its IPO, then watched as its stock soared 41 percent in the first day of trading. After opening at $16 per share, the company’s stock skyrocketed to $34.86 before settling around $20.
Analysts hailed the IPO as evidence that mobile gaming had become a viable industry. The company turned a $1 million profit in the first half of last year after losing $7 million in 2003.
Last week, Lehman Brothers upgraded Jamdat stock to “overweight,” predicting it will outperform the rest of the industry this year.
RadioShack, meanwhile, has become one of the most prominent retail locations for wireless products, services and accessories. Analysts have reported the retailer accounts for as much as one-fourth of all gross customer additions for its wireless partners.
Late last year, the company inked a multi-year agreement to operate wireless kiosks in more than 500 Sam’s Club locations across the country, selling products and services from Sprint PCS, T-Mobile USA Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. Sam’s Club reported more than $150 million in sales last year from its kiosks.
