Cingular hosts "Saturday Night Live" mobile clips

Generalísimo Francisco Franco is still dead, and in related news, the aging sketch comedy series "Saturday Night Live" is coming to mobile thanks to a deal announced by Cingular Wireless, NBC Universal and producer Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video Entertainment. Featuring an evolving library comprising roughly 100 classic clips from across the series' 32-season history as well as new material produced expressly for the mobile platform, the deal marks "SNL"'s wireless network debut. Cingular will also make available ringtones based on the show's theme song and its most memorable catchphrases, as well as wallpapers.

"This is a landmark deal for NBC Universal and Cingular," NBC Universal Television Networks Distribution's VP of New Media Ron Lamprecht said in a prepared statement. "This agreement will allow consumers to watch NBC's Emmy Award-winning late-night comedy showcase, "SNL", in a way that's convenient for them. NBC Universal is committed to providing our customers with content on a variety of platforms to meet their needs."

On the one hand, this is a big deal (if not exactly "landmark.") "SNL" is a venerable brand with an enormous cache of brief, entertaining clips well-matched to the so-called snacking habits of the average mobile video viewer. On the other hand, if you're in the coveted 18-to-24 subscriber demographic, you probably couldn't care less. The show hasn't been funny since you were in grade school (I estimate its creative demise sometime circa 1994, concurrent with Phil Hartman's exit), it hasn't launched a breakout character or catchphrase in years, and the last time viewers buzzed about a new episode was following October 2004's Ashlee Simpson lip-syncing debacle, and shame on Michaels for booking such a no-talent in the first place. The tipping point may well prove the original material, not the familiar clips we've all seen ad nauseum--only if "SNL" can generate another viral phenomenon on par with 2005's much-downloaded music video satire "Lazy Sunday" will the service truly stand out against the increasingly crowded mobile video landscape.

For more on the Cingular/"SNL" deal:
- read this release

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