News Corp. launches mobile store, production studio

News Corp. launched a "mobile mall" called Mobizzo that will offer 2,000 pieces of content, including art work from a Hollywood tattoo designer, a Chinese art collective, a Los Angeles street artist, text alerts from a gossip column in a British tabloid, kung fu movie posters and meditation music from the Star media group in Hong Kong. Fox's vast film library and recently launched mobile content production company are also sure to be contributors. Cingular and T-Mobile are the initial user base for the service and can log on to Mobizzo.com. Á la carte items cost between $1.99 and $2.99, while subscription plans run $5.99 a month. Fees are included on monthly phone bills, and News Corp. keeps much of the revenue from sales.

Direct to consumer MoCo services have certainly gained momentum recently with some analysts predicting such services could grow to 50 percent of all MoCo transactions during the next two years. It'll take at least that long as 3G services get up and running here in the states: News Corp. says the initial launch won't include any video since most American handsets can't process it yet. Video will come in 12 months. Ringtones, screensavers and casual games won't make Mobizzo wildly popular in the coming year, but offerings from popular cartoons like Family Guy and recent hit cult film Napoleon Dynamite are sure to put it on the map. Marketing efforts in Florida during Spring Break season along with every MVNO targeting the youth market should prove trying.

For more on News Corp.'s Mobizzo plans:
- take a look at this article from The New York Times