Qmobile, Disney Ring Up Content Deal for Cellphones
Scarface," the Wayans Brothers and Winnie the Pooh are among the Disney-owned content that will be gracing cellphones starting this week. Reston-based Qmobile Inc. , a mobile content provider, struck a distribution deal with the Walt Disney Internet Group .
Qmobile will offer Disney content -- including wallpaper graphics, ring tones and video snippets -- through its Qtones service and affiliated channels. The library contains soundtracks from movies such as "Finding Nemo" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."
The company has been expanding its entertainment features lately to appeal to a younger, more diverse audience. Last week it announced a partnership with Star Media , publisher of Smooth and Smooth Girl, urban magazines for teenagers and twenty-somethings, to distribute edgy articles about pop culture, music videos and celebrity news. Some of the new features include dating programs and video fan clubs.
Qmobile has also added BET personality Melyssa "Jessica Rabbit" Ford to its lineup with live chats and photo shoot reels, bringing more than 50,000 subscribers in the process.
"We're really looking to become a mobile publisher, producing radio and interactive TV shows," said Charlie Minesinger, Qmobile vice president of business development. "Disney is one of the biggest media houses in the world, with some of the best urban and mainstream properties money can buy."
The company was formed in 2003 with $1 million in investments by local venture capital firms Draper Fisher Jurvetson , the Grosvenor Fund and Draper Atlantic . It has more than 350,000 subscribers and has delivered entertainment content to nearly 1 million U.S. cellphone users. Qmobile customers can download 15 items for $9.99 at http://www.qtones.com .
