Alltel launches viral Web video distribution feature
March 27, 2008
Video gaga
Alltel Wireless is giving customers with video-capable phones access to Alltel Social Video, an application created by mobile video service provider Transpera.
Alltel Social Video allows customers to share and rate videos for $2.99 per month from sources such as Break.com, AtomFilms and GrindTV.com. After viewing the videos, customers have the option to rate the video or share the content with friends and family. Customers can search for videos across channels, create custom playlists and manage distribution lists.
“The whole point of a mobile phone is to connect people,” said Lucie Pathmann, director of marketing communications at Alltel, Little Rock, AR. “Letting our customers share videos is a way of connecting them to one another.”
Transpera, Santa Monica, CA, is a provider of mobile video services. The company provides services for online content owners, carrier networks and advertisers in the mobile video market. Its platform and bridging technology helps monetize mobile video content.
Alltel is a carrier with more than 12 million customers.
Ms. Pathmann said Alltel is not currently selling any ad space within the video platform.
She also said that the launch of Alltel Social Video is just one example of how Alltel provides customers with applications that tap into current trends and take full advantage of today’s technologies.
“This is our way to provide customers more control and choice over what they see,” Ms. Pathmann said. “People are increasingly using their phones as an entertainment device and we decided to give them a different way to do it, with a viral distribution aspect.
“Social networking is becoming big, too,” she said. “We've combined video and social networking, allowing consumers to interact with each other wherever they are and whenever they want.”