NEW TV NETWORK IN JAPAN: ONLY FOR CELLPHONES

In its first year, BeeTV, which broadcasts short-form programs only to mobile phone users, has signed up 1.3 million subscribers, who each pay $3.00 per month for the programs, Advertising Age reported today (Monday). Its success has not been lost on advertisers, the trade publication observed. While BeeTV does not currently sell ads, media buyers are beginning to take notice. The magazine quoted Dave McCaughan, head of strategic planning in the Asia/Pacific region for McCann WorldGroup, as saying, “When BeeTV first launched, our media buyers thought it wouldn’t last. … There’s so much going on in this area and they thought it was too expensive, but BeeTV keeps adding new subscriptions and has helped NTT Docomo [the mobile phone operator that owns it] attract people from other carriers.”