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axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
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From: Londinium
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Spanish Telefónica Móviles has included in its content FanTESStic, an interactive series with real actors created exclusively for MMS.
Each week, subscribers get three chapters of the mobile soap opera. Each chapter includes one MMS with five images, a text of the plot and music.
The series was imagined by Endemol and produced in Holland using blue screen / photoshop, the soap is about DJ Tess' last appearance on the island of Ibiza, where she falls victim to a strange crime.
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[ This Message was edited by: axxxr on 2004-11-06 17:39 ] | |
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axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Londinium
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Big Brother producer Endemol will unveil the UK's first mobile phone soap opera in the next few months, based on the story of an Ibiza DJ who has lost her identity and is struggling to get it back.
FanTESStic is an 80-episode comic strip series that will run for 16 weeks and will be delivered as MMS messages to mobile phone users each day, at a cost of £1.50 for five weekly installments.
Endemol UK has high expectations for the mobile content market, having already tested the waters with Big Brother MMS updates since the fourth series. It has now adapted the FanTESStic format, created by Endemol Holland, for the English language market via its interactive agency Victoria Real.
The company's in the process of securing advertising and sponsorship of FanTESStic through digital media agency i-level. A Web site introducing potential viewers to the series will launch in a few weeks time, although a pilot's already up and running.
'Entertainment to mobile phones is going to come thick and fast in the next six to 12 months with the arrival of 3G,' said Peter Cowley, Endemol UK director of interactive media. 'We're testing the water to see how this content works in the market.'
Cowley said Endemol had received interest in the format from broadcasters considering comic strip spin-offs of popular TV shows.
FanTESStic is aimed at the 10- to 24-year-old demographic and has already proved a hit in Spain where it was recently launched by Endemol parent Telefonica.
The series was shot with real actors, set against the backdrop of a virtual world created using computer graphics. The comic strip will carry some commercial messages, an opportunity Cowley said had already piqued the interest of a number of companies.
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axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Londinium
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FanTESStic consists of 80 comic strip-style episodes and runs over a 16-week period. The storyline is based on a female DJ in Ibiza who has lost her identity and is struggling to get it back. In case you haven't guessed yet, her name is TESS.
Following successful trials in Spain and the Netherlands, Endemol launched the UK version of FanTESStic in the second week of September using international mobile services provider Opera Telecom's MMS development platform, M-Enable.
Peter Cowley, Director of Interactive Media at Endemol International, believes, "the broadcast industry is moving more and more in the direction of multi-platform content that steers away from TV-only formats.
The launch of FanTESStic demonstrates Endemol's continued dedication to this interactive market - few production companies can boast such aggressive investment in interactive development.
Cowley continued, "FanTESStic is a major breakthrough for Endemol. We hope to gain both technical confidence in our ability to roll out MMS services through a reliable partner and ascertain the level of consumer acceptance of MMS-based content. Opera Telecom is leading the way in getting MMS to the mass market and was therefore the obvious choice of partner for us."
Endemol is working with Opera Telecom on a zero-cost-of-entry, revenue share basis, with Opera Telecom managing delivery and billing from its operations centre in Birmingham and using its M-Enable platform to create and launch the complex MMS service. Endemol has complete visibility of traffic at all times.
Cowley continues, "There has been a complete transformation in the way in which people interact with the media. People with broadband connections use the Internet more than they watch TV, while young people brought up with sophisticated mobile phones are very receptive to watching TV on the phone in the future. There are significant challenges in doing this but, as with any new service, getting the delivery and quality of service right first time is essential."
Cowley concludes, "When the UK market is susceptible to receiving daily MMS data, we have a number of other MMS and mobile video projects that we are planning to launch. We will continuously aim to be one step ahead of the multimedia landscape and Opera Telecom will continue playing a major part in helping us achieve this."
Mobile viewers of the FanTESStic MMS soap opera are charged at 50p per episode or UKP£1.50 for five episodes, with the charges appearing on the viewer's monthly mobile phone bill.
www.fantesstic.endemoluk.com
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Jake Blues
Joined: May 24, 2004
Posts: > 500
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great. another soap for women to gossip about non stop.
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vineet_d
Joined: Apr 15, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: MumBhai
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looks impressive 
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Asterix
Joined: Aug 19, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Lima / Peru
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Thtat's the most aggressive media approach to moviles I've ever seen.
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Access the forum with a mobile phone via esato.mobi
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Posted: 2004-06-25 03:36
