The nation’s newest reality show is set to debut on a mobile phone near you.
Sprint announced it will offer a streaming video application from Cyber Oasys Corp. and V-Star that will follow the antics of five “twenty-somethings” living together in a Santa Monica, Calif., house. Called “The Spot,” the reality series features writers, actors and photographers and is designed specifically for the wireless medium.
“Sprint has always prided itself on putting pop culture in the palms of its customers’ hands via Sprint PCS Vision,” said Jeff Hallock, vice president of consumer product marketing for Sprint. “Reality series have developed an avid following, and Sprint is excited to deliver the first reality series to the mobile world.”
“The Spot” first premiered on the Internet in 1995. The show was a mixture of scripted and unscripted drama, with actors going about their daily lives. Viewers could offer input and opinions on the show. Funding for “The Spot” ran out in 1996, but it was relaunched this year on the Internet with the specific goal of selling the show to wireless users.
“Creating original content for wireless brings its own set of production rules,” said Stewart St. John, the show’s executive producer. St. John’s writing and producing credits include television series for Warner Brothers Television, The Disney Channel and Fox. “You can’t think in terms of the way you would create for television and just re-purpose it and throw it up on mobile phones. Storytelling on wireless by the very nature of the platform has to be fully interactive to succeed.”
Sprint mobile-phone users will be able to watch the goings-on in “The Spot” household and will be able to offer opinions and input on the direction of the plot. Cyber Oasys Corp., a Santa Monica-based Internet and wireless content provider, and StewdioMedia Entertainment Group are the producers for “The Spot,” and technology company V-Star manages the service. V-Star also offers its 1KTV application through Sprint.
“The Spot” is the latest effort to develop TV content for wireless users. Media giant News Corp., which manages the Fox TV studio, announced earlier this year plans to offer “Hotel Franklin,” a reality series set in Hollywood that will be shown in weekly 60-second episodes to wireless users. News Corp. said it is still in negotiations with carriers to offer the TV show. Further, Los Angeles-based start-up Fun Little Movies is also in the process of developing short comedy films for sale to wireless users. Other companies looking to produce TV series for wireless users include BigDigit Inc., mFlix and others.
