BET, Motricity delivering ring tones

Viewers can download songs to cell phones

Imagine you're watching a Mariah Carey video when a note appears on the television screen telling you how to download the song as a ring tone on your cell phone. A quick text message later, and Mariah is on your phone, ready to play.

BET and Durham-based Motricity are making it just that easy with the introduction of BET Mobile, a partnership that has the companies collaborating to develop mobile content and promote it.

BET, a television network geared to an African-American audience, will advertise ring tones and other mobile content, not just during commercial breaks, but within video shows 106 & Park and Rap City. BET is the first network to incorporate advertising for mobile content into its leading shows, Motricity says.

The goal is to drive impulse purchases, said Jud Bowman, the Durham company's chief technology officer. BET's new initiative shows the text-message code for a download on the television screen, allowing viewers to get ring tones practically without taking their eyes off the music video.

"People just have to pull their cell phones out of their pockets and they'll be able to download it," Bowman said.

The service became available to Sprint, Cingular and T-Mobile subscribers Tuesday, and it will be accessible to Alltel, Nextel and Verizon customers early next year.

BET Mobile could change the way people buy ring tones, said Motricity CEO Ryan Wuerch. BET viewers eventually will be able to download full-track music and videos just as easily, he said.

The deal could revolutionize the music distribution model, Bowman said. Networks such as BET have never sold music, he said. They have instead been the place where people watched music videos before buying CDs or downloading MP3s from other companies.

Motricity initially will provide ring tones, graphics and games for BET's viewers, as well as the technology that sends content to customers' mobile phones. BET Mobile's ring tones cost the standard $1.99 to $2.99, with Motricity sharing a part of the revenue, Bowman said. Specific financial details were not disclosed.

The ring-tone industry already measures in the billions of dollars, and it is poised to grow further as providers such as Motricity add new content, Wuerch said.

Through the BET deal, Motricity is targeting the very consumers who are most attuned to its products. Toronto's Solutions Research Group reported last week that African-American and Hispanic consumers lead the way in using mobile-phone features, such as ring-tone downloads.

And while BET is Motricity's first media network deal, it may not be its last. The company also is proposing mobile strategies to some of the key cable and broadcast television networks and movie studios.

"When they hear about the BET announcement, I think that credibility it gives us can help us close those deals," Bowman said.

Motricity's payroll is growing along with its new business. The company now has about 250 employees in Durham and about 50 others around the world. Wuerch expects the company to hit 400 employees by April, and move into its new headquarters at Durham's American Tobacco Historic District in June.