Mobliss offloads messaging biz to New Motion

Mobliss Inc. made its exit from mobile messaging official, selling off its assets in the space to digital company New Motion Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
Mobliss, a subsidiary of Japan’s Index Holdings, gained substantial traction in the early days of text messaging in the United States by powering “American Idol’s” wildly successful mobile voting campaign. But the company now plans to refocus on its line of mobile games, which include licensed titles such as “Family Feud,” “New York Times Crossword” and “The Price is Right Cliffhangers.”
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and FremantleMedia, which produces “American Idol,” have tapped VeriSign Inc. to handle the SMS voting campaign for the show this season.
Meanwhile, New Motion said it will partner with Index Visual & Games Ltd.-another Index Holdings subsidiary-to crate an “Asian-themed mobile entertainment portal.” The direct-to-consumer joint venture will be a U.S.-based corporation, the companies said, and will operate under a consumer-facing brand that will be announced later.
New Motion was founded in 2005 and has gained attention recently with a pact to power mobile marketing offerings for TNA, an upstart professional wrestling franchise.
“These two deals allow us to significantly expand our service offerings and partner with a leading global player in the interactive games and mobile space,” said New Motion CEO Burton Katz, a former executive with Buongiorno Vitaminic, a global direct-to-consumer mobile media powerhouse. “Our new, scalable interactive messaging capabilities will be invaluable as well as in helping us tap into a major new market with outstanding Asian mobile content.”