Soap Operas Go Mobile

Mobile phone users whose lives lack soap opera excitement may have the opportunity to spice things up. Media Republic, a Dutch production company, will begin delivering its popular Jong Zuid (Young South) series to cell phone users in the UK and Germany in April.

Jong Zuid has already become a hit in Holland, where more than 30,000 mobile users have signed up for a subscription to the soap since its launch there last August, according to Media Republic Creative Director Douwe Dirks. Subscribers receive two episodes a day at a cost of $1.40 a week. Each episode consists of six cartoon-like sequences with corresponding text.

British and German versions of Jong Zuid are currently in development, Dirks says. They will be based in London and Berlin, respectively, featuring local actors and celebrities. Media Republic is set to announce details of the UK launch later this week.

Although locations and languages will change, the story line will stay basically the same, boasting a mix of sex, drugs, rocky relationships, and high glamour.

Get the Message

In Holland, Jong Zuid is delivered via Microsoft's MSN Messenger and through a partnership with mobile operator Telfort B.V. The episodes also appear on MSN Online, Dirks says.

Dirks believes that the Multimedia Messaging Service soap represents one of the first 3G applications that can net a large audience.

"I think so far people have gotten a little bored with the content offered for 3G handsets," Dirks said. "It's mainly been soccer highlights for guys."

Jong Zuid, on the other hand, is geared toward women.

This is an important market to reach, according to IDC senior analyst Paolo Pescatore, given that 3G services created around sports and gaming are thought to be targeted at men.

Coming Soon?

Men need not fret, however, as MMS soaps targeting male audiences are in the works, Dirks says.

"We are working on different soaps and using The Netherlands as a test market," he said.

And in addition to launching mobile-tailored soaps to Germany and the UK, Media Republic is also looking into entering other, more advanced 3G markets in Scandinavia and Japan, Dirks says.

While not every mobile user is likely in a lather over soaps delivered directly to their phones, getting anyone to pay for MMS content is impressive at this point, according to Pescatore.

"Operators will certainly be open to these types of services," he says.