Mywaves washes onto Alltel’s deck

Mobile video startup mywaves inked its first carrier deal, gaining placement on the deck of Alltel Corp.
Alltel subscribers can download an application to gain access to both user-generated videos and professional programming from the Internet. The $4-per -month service allows users to choose their favorite channels from genres including comedy, sports, health, business and music, and users can opt to receive text message alerts when new clips are available.
Mywaves launched earlier this year and delivers access to more than 100,000 channels to users in more than 140 countries. While the Alltel deal marks its first on-deck agreement, the company claims to have registered more than 1 million members through its free, direct-to-consumer service.
“For small companies, carriers do one thing very well: they represent a leveraged distribution outlet for your product or service,” mywaves CEO Rajeev Raman said earlier this year. “We know that reaching out to a handful of strategic carriers can get you distribution or awareness that small companies would find hard to do by themselves.”
Mywaves is one of a number of companies targeting the mobile video space. Indeed, Internet video behemoth YouTube recently launched a wireless Web site with a selection of its videos.