Dr Who to land on your mobile

By Steve Malone

Posted on 24 Aug 2005 at 10:42

Classic episodes of classic Sci-Fi programmes from the BBC are coming to a mobile phone near you. BBC Worldwide has signed a deal to licence full-length episodes of cult classics like Dr Who and Red Dwarf to distributor ROK Player.

It is the first time BBC Worldwide has licensed full-length video content for use on mobile phones.

Among the first batch of programmes likely to appear are the Doctor Who special The Five Doctors and three episodes from Red Dwarf - Marooned, Quarantine and Cassandra.

In order to view the programmes, phone owners will need the ROK Player which turns the mobile into a multimedia playback device offering full screen viewing (which may not be saying a lot on many mobile screens) of films, TV programmes and music videos.

It works via proprietary Digital Video Chip technology that is stored, along with the audio-visual content, on the phone's multi-media memory card. The company behind the player, ROK Entertainment Group, says that the chips work with a wide range of phones that are multi-media card compatible.

ROK has already signed up a range of cult favourites including Wallace and Gromit and the current kids cult character Spongebob Squarepants. The company also offers music videos from the likes of Dr Dre and Pink Floyd to the Ministry of Sound franchise.

ROK says it is in negotiations with BBC Worldwide to licence more of the BBC's huge back catalogue of classic TV programmes over the coming months. The company is betting that the market in the UK alone for programmes on mobiles will be worth as much as £100m a year within three years.

The Digital Video Chips will cost around £17.00 and will be available from Nokia stores and Choices Video or online from the ROK web site.