NBC Sports upped the ante for sports news on handheld devices with an advertising-supported mobile site that's capable of delivering real-time content as well.

Built by Crisp Wireless, the NBC Sports Mobile site will be available on-deck and off-deck with up-to-the-minute scores, mobile fantasy news and advice, player statistics for games and seasons, injury reports and player news. Toyota Motor is an advertiser.

"It's a solution that addresses every need of American sports lovers," said Boris Fridman, CEO of Crisp Wireless, New York.

Accessed at http://mobile.nbcsports.com, the site is carried wireless carrier on-deck portals such as Verizon Wireless Mobile Web and Alltel Axcess Web.

Consumers can also visit NBC Sports Mobile site by typing the Web address on their phone's Web browsers. In addition, mobile Web users can receive the link directly to their phone by texting SPORTS to 51515.

What they will find on the site is a clean interface that integrates complex data feeds. Also on that site are scores, statistics and standings for tennis, golf and the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR and NCAA football and basketball.

A major activity in the offline and online world, fantasy sports gets its own spot on NBC Sports Mobile. The media company is sourcing exclusive content from the Rotoworld.com site, including features, player news and injury reports.

The goal with the Rotoworld.com deal is to make NBC Sports Mobile the leading mobile destination for fantasy sports news.

Mobilized media
Crisp Wireless incorporated the company's Microsite Builder tool within mobile.nbcsports.com to enable an advertiser to build mobile landing pages without much need for technical knowledge.

Another technology that Crisp Wireless uses is its mLogic platform to let companies run mobile sites incorporating audio and video, text messaging, commerce and integrated data feeds for content management.

NBC Sports Mobile is available as a separate channel on MobiTV with news, live coverage, scores and highlights from NBC Sports broadcasts such as the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and the NFL.

Another mobile effort, NBC2Go, delivers live NBC Sports broadcasts from the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Notre Dame football, the Preakness Stakes and the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

The NBC Sports Mobile site is one of 200 that Crisp Wireless has built for media giants such as Gannett Co.'s USA Today, Tribune Interactive, A&E Networks, The Weather Channel's weather.com, Bravo Cable Network, Discovery, Hachette Filipacchi, Paramount Pictures and Hearst.

All told, these firms' mobile sites attract roughly 15 million unique visitors a month.

NBC Sports Mobile is television broadcaster NBC's attempt to muscle into territory dominated by ESPN Mobile. Walt Disney Co. -- owned ESPN recently declared that its ESPN Mobile destination attracted more traffic than its Internet Web site -- a first for media.

This latest development is evidence that media players such as NBC Sports are taking mobile advertising seriously as a revenue generator -- a contrast from the waffling in the past year and a half.

"Advertising is a key element of monetizing their application," Mr. Fridman said of NBC Sports Mobile. "Subscription was even a consideration. Monetizing this approach through advertising is a key part of their strategy.

"Mobile advertising is not an afterthought," he said. "Sites are now being designed with [accommodation for] mobile advertising ahead of time."