Can't Talk, I'm Watching My Cellphone'
TV programs head to an even smaller screen as carriers scramble for mobile clips to air.

By Matea Gold, Times Staff Writer

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Dale Knoop works in a suburban office complex, a long way from the Hollywood suites where network officials greenlight new TV shows. But here he was on a recent drizzly morning, listening to a pitch for a new hip-hop channel called Pure Phat.

Knoop is in the vanguard of a rapidly changing medium that industry experts predict will transform the way we watch news and entertainment: mobile phone television.

As Sprint's manager of multimedia services, he decides what programs to offer subscribers of Sprint TV, a $9.99-per-month service that allows wireless users to watch a range of programs, including the Weather Channel and a live feed of Fox News.

"None of us work at a network," said Knoop after hearing the pitch, "but we know this is what they do."

Several years ago, watching television on your phone seemed futuristic and out of reach. But a flurry of activity by mobile phone carriers, software developers and media companies has made the idea a reality. link to article