Playboy Enterprises has signed its first major mobile carrier agreement through a deal with Hutchison’s third-generation operations. The agreement covers rights to provide Playboy’s print, online and broadcast libraries to wireless customers in markets where Hutchison has 3G companies.
The Hong Kong-based operator has focused on lining up strong content for its 3G offerings partially due to the fact it does not offer current-generation services in most of its 3G markets. In addition, the U.K. company is off to a slow start, selling only 10,000 to 20,000 handsets in its first few months of service. The operator sharply reduced handset prices in the United Kingdom after only a few weeks of service to draw users.
The Playboy deal will see different content offered in each Hutchison market depending on local regulations, conditions and customer preferences. Customers can access still photos and video clips from Playboy, which the adult entertainment company said includes more than 13 million photos and 2,000 hours of video.
Hutchison has plans to launch 3G operations in nine markets. It currently offers commercial 3G service in the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia.
Adult content is one of the few areas currently making money on the wired Internet, and mobile operators have cautiously and quietly been looking at similar content for mobile services.
Vodafone Group plc has also announced a strategy for mobile adult content that is said to include software tools to bar access to its own adult services, plus filtering mechanisms for access to the mobile Internet. The company confirmed it would also launch an R (restricted) rating system for adult content available via its Live! service in the United Kingdom.
