FHM turns to mobile TV with broadcasts across networks

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 09-Mar-06, 08:40

LONDON - FHM's sprawl across media has now reached mobile TV, as Emap starts offering an hour's worth of three- to five-minute mini-programmes each week on the 3, Orange and Vodafone networks.

The men's monthly magazine has made a home for itself on the web, then last year on music television and Sony's PSP. It is now upgrading its 3G mobile content service, which was established last year and already has 500,000 unique users, to a broadcast TV service.

Rather than selecting clips, mobile users tune in to an hour-long loop, as with a TV channel.

Content is created by the FHM team and Guerrilla, the production company behind FHM Music TV.

It includes photoshoots of FHM cover stars, the magazine's High Street Honeys competition, as well as Around the World in 80 Beers, which follows an FHM journalist as he samples local brews around the globe.

Leading the project for Emap are Rob Willis, head of mobile, and Mike Burgess, creative director of the mobile team.

Burgess said: "Mobile is a new platform and fresh, bespoke content is essential. The media snacking of the mobile audience means that snappy, lively and instantly entertaining content is the order of the day."

Guerrilla is developing formats for UK mobile networks and is Yahoo!'s UK broadband programming partner.

Paul Fifield, Guerrilla managing director, said: "We are delighted with the deal where finally digital production and distribution is coming of age."

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