By Sinead Carew
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cellphone and media companies expect to see a sizable market for advertising on cellphones in coming years, with options including advertising-subsidized video services, top executives said on Wednesday.
Viacom Inc. (VIA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which runs MTV and Comedy Central, is working with major operators, and plans to play a major role in the first trials of mobile ads in the next year.
Sprint Nextel Corp. (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider, is keen to offer subsidized wireless videos and local ads to cellphones.
"There's no question that advertisers are interested," said Viacom Chief Executive Tom Freston, speaking in New York at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit.
Freston said Viacom, which works with about 70 cellphone companies around the world, is talking to "various" operators about details of how advertising could work. He believes mobile video ads would have to be very short to succeed, and would depend on customers allowing them in exchange for deals on their cell phone.
"What amount of advertising are they willing to accept in exchange for lower fees," he said.
As it aims to boost revenue with new features like video, Sprint Nextel is also looking at technology and business models around providing advertising to people using these services.
Sprint Nextel's chief technology officer Barry West pointed to the possibilities for sending information such as special offers at a local Italian restaurant to phones that can pinpoint the user's location. Continued...
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