When it comes to mobile phone advertising, there is an apparent disconnect between movie outfits and advertising agencies. Although the mobile marketing/advertising industry is becoming more popular and is projected to reach $3 billion by the end 2007, major advertisers don't find the risk worth taking as they remain focused on the $48 billion broadcast TV advertising.

An article in New York Times cites the dismal failure of six-episode cellphone series, the Green Arrow, to entice advertisers to support this program. Despite this lack of enthusiasm, it did not deter other outfits like Century Fox, Viacom's MTV Networks, and Sony Pictures to come up with new programs.

But while short, multiepisode cellphone series are growing in popularity, the lucrative advertising dollars prevalent in other entertainment segments - and which studios rely on for profit - have been slow to migrate to the supersmall screen.

Alana Muller, director of wireless data marketing for Sprint, said companies are reluctant to sponsor ads because demand for video is still new. According to the Yankee Group, the number of mobile video viewers in the United States is about 5 million, 10 times more than in 2004 but still a small fraction of the 195 million mobile phone subscribers nationwide.

The question is whether anyone will pay to watch. Ms. Barrabee said there is a disconnect between what mobile users are willing to spend for video services and what wireless companies charge.

"It's more like the Internet," she said. "People are going to want things for free. Studios will have to come up with advertising-supported business models."

Via mocoNews