Short film channel for UK mobile phones

Shorts International, in partnership with NTL Broadcast and mobile phone company O2, will be trialling a short film TV channel (Shorts TV), broadcasting films direct to mobile phones.

The six month trial, which runs from September 2005, will be available to 350 customers of 02 in the Oxford area of England.

As well as Shorts International, the 16 channels will include BSkyB, Chart Show TV, Discovery Networks Europe, and Turner Broadcasting.

O2 will soon begin the process of recruiting triallists from within the Oxford ring road. Triallists will be between 18 and 45 years of age, and spend the majority of their day (ie live, work or study) in Oxford. Initially, handsets will be provided to all 350 triallists by Nokia - the new 7710 which, for the purposes of the trial, will come with a special receiver.

Shorts International CEO Carter Pilcher commented: “We are confident that our experience in programming short films across all different media will allow us to create an exciting channel for this new and challenging audience.”

From ScreenDaily.com, Screen International's on-line news service.