Thumbplay News

NEW YORK – September 23, 2008 – Thumbplay® (www.thumbplay.com), the #1 mobile entertainment content service in the U.S.*, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®), the world's premiere mixed martial arts sports organization, today announced the launch of a wide array of mobile content through the Thumbplay service. Effective immediately, UFC fans can hear from their favorite UFC fighters, replay videos of the most intense matchups and view the stunning Octagon Girls™ through the convenience of Thumbplay’s online and mobile content retrieval service.

Thumbplay, available on more than 2,000 mobile devices across all major U.S. carriers, will now showcase some of the most exciting throw-downs in fight history and other riveting content, including:

• Fighters: Download videos and wall papers from various UFC fighters
• Octagon Girls: Arianny Celeste, Edith Labelle and Rachelle Leah heat up your background
• Events: Video Clips and stills from the biggest battles in UFC history
• Sound Effects: All the sounds of the Octagon in one convenient spot

“UFC has exploded on the sports scene and enjoys an enormous fan following that is as dedicated and passionate as the athletes themselves,” commented Are Traasdahl, Thumbplay’s CEO and founder. “Now, the fans will have an even deeper connection to their favorite athletes and all of the compelling content the UFC has assembled. And naturally, it is all delivered with the great service and easy access Thumbplay is known for.”

UFC, the world’s largest pay-per-view content provider with more than 12 events per year, is a mixed martial arts competition between highly skilled professional fighters who use such disciplines as jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing and wrestling. UFC fighters are among the best-trained and conditioned athletes in the world hailing from such diverse countries as the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Holland and the United Kingdom.

“We are always pushing technology and looking for new ways to deliver the UFC experience to our fans,” stated Dana White, UFC President. “With Thumbplay, we can offer the UFC fighters, sounds and action from UFC events as downloads. This partnership makes new UFC content available to fans and can literally make the UFC come to life right on your mobile device.”

Featuring music, videos, games and more, Thumbplay’s extensive and ever-growing entertainment library currently consists of more than 100,000 pieces of licensed content. Their award-winning direct-to-consumer service is accessible on more than 2,000 devices among every major carrier in the U.S.

The company has maintained and grown its leadership position in the industry by providing its consumers with the best possible customer experience, including live, “24/7/365” customer service and a commitment to delivering the largest catalog of entertainment possible. Thumbplay’s “locker” service also allows users to automatically back-up and store purchased items.

Thumbplay features licensed music, video and gaming content from some of the world’s largest entertainment companies, including EMI, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Pictures Television, as well as several independent labels and artists and video game companies. Thumbplay’s mobile entertainment catalog is integrated into Clear Channel Radio, AOL and MSN Mobile sites, as well as iLike.com, one of the Web’s leading social music discovery services. Moreover, based on Thumbplay’s reputation for exceptional customer care and technological innovation, MTV recently tapped the company to power personalization content for the music giant’s mobile content site.

Each month, Thumbplay.com gets more than five million unique visitors and its mobile (WAP) site (m.thumbplay.com) receives more than 12 million page views, making it one of the most popular mobile Web sites.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Bell ExpressVU, Viewers Choice and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC® programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC® fight news, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or www.ufcespanol.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.

About Thumbplay
Thumbplay, Inc. is defining the mobile entertainment experience for U.S. consumers. As the largest and fastest growing mobile entertainment content destination, Thumbplay gives consumers access to the broadest and deepest catalog in the industry, spanning audio, video and gaming content from the leading music labels and artists, game publishers and media companies. Its innovative delivery and marketing platform makes it easy for users to discover, manage, store and share mobile content online and on their wireless devices.

Headquartered in New York City, Thumbplay was founded in September 2004 by Are Traasdahl and Evan Schwartz. It is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, SoftBank Capital, i-Hatch Ventures, Redwood Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech, Brookside Capital Partners and Cross Creek Capital. More information can be found at www.thumbplay.com or at m.thumbplay.com from a mobile phone.

Labels: press-release

An excerpt from this week's "2008 Top Mobile Executives" feature in Billboard:

Billboard’s Power Players series focuses on the top 10 mobile executives on the front lines, the ones developing artist-specific mobile promotions and negotiating the innovative deals that may serve as templates for others in the near future. While those setting the strategy are certainly an important force in this effort, those getting their hands dirty on the nitty-gritty details and implementing those strategies deserve some recognition as well. And with that, the list here represents the 10 movers and shakers in the mobile music field who caught our eye this year – hailing from the major labels to the wireless operators and beyond.

Are Traasdahl
CEO, Thumbplay
Off-deck mobile content sales are a growing business, referring to ringtones and other content that mobile users can buy outside of their carrier's official portal. A recent Informa study predicts that off-deck mobile content sales in the U.S. will surpass that of carrier-based services by the end of the year. Leading the way in this emerging market is Thumbplay, which moves more off-deck ringtone sales than any other direct-to-consumer offering. At the helm is Are Traasdahl, who has aggressively pushed for big marketing deals that get the Thumbplay brand in front of more and more music fans. The service is the exclusive ringtone sales provider for AOL, iLike, Clear Channel Radio and many others. An Internet search on most any artist will find links to buying ringtones from Thumbplay. Most recently, Thumbplay became the official provider of a revamped MTV mobile site. Up next: full-song downloads. The company is expected to introduce a service that lets fans buy full songs over the air from any mobile phone in the near future, which could give those run by mobile operators a real competitive challenge.

Labels: press-release

NEW YORK – September 8, 2008 – Thumbplay® (http://www.thumbplay.com/), the #1 mobile entertainment destination in the U.S.*, has launched the Beta version of Thumbplay Open (open.thumbplay.com). Through Thumbplay Open, independent content owners can effortlessly upload, manage and sell digital content to an audience of more than 230 million mobile customers in the U.S. The service is live now and was announced today.

Thumbplay Open serves two distinct communities. First, independent music and visual artists now have the ability to generate income by packaging and selling their own digital media to millions of mobile customers. Second, site publishers and application developers can sell mobile downloads from any Web site, application or widget. In both cases, users generate income from every new subscriber that comes into the Thumbplay service, $5 - $8 per new subscriber. The service will expand to include games, mobile applications, videos and full-track downloads.

ARTISTS: The process for independent artists to begin making money from their content is just three steps and takes only minutes. After uploading their content, artists can see their unique artist page appear on the Thumbplay Web and WAP sites within minutes. Their content is then available for sale to the millions of visitors to Thumbplay’s sites and through Thumbplay’s 300+ partner sites. The company’s major partners include Clear Channel Radio, AOL and MSN Mobile, as well as iLike.com. All content delivery occurs over-the-air to more than 2,000 unique handset profiles across all major U.S. carriers.

Artists are also given access to a number of promotional tools, such as customized widget creation. They can hand-select content, personal images and even preferred colors and buttons for their widgets, reaching millions of new fans through social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, blogs and Web sites. For offline promotion, artists have the ability to promote their content through the Thumbplay GET program. GET allows fans to text “GET,” plus the artist’ name (e.g., “GET TAY ZONDAY”), to 84862 (THUMB) and download the content directly to their phone.

Best of all, fans receive all the benefits of Thumbplay’s impeccable customer service while enjoying a purchasing experience they know and trust. There are no limits to the amount of content an artist can contribute.

Artists who participated in early Alpha testing of Thumbplay Open have experienced notable success. One example includes the internet phenom Tay Zonday. Within a few months, Zonday’s earnings from the program topped $10,000.

DEVELOPERS AND SITE PUBLISHERS: Web site developers and publishers now have the opportunity to add mobile downloads to any site, application or widget. They can access APIs and feeds for rich integration, while increasing their page views and return visits. Unique tracking parameters for URLs and API keys can be accessed in less than five minutes and generate additional revenue on a same-day basis.

"Thumbplay’s rich tradition of innovation continues with this very significant Beta launch," said Are Traasdahl, CEO and founder of Thumbplay. "With Thumbplay Open, we’re now seeing a true realization of the promise of the Web and mobile for distribution of digital content. Even in Beta, it is so easy to use that I am confident it will be the standard-bearer for developers and content creators everywhere. We’ve taken care of everything on the technology side and created a platform that allows users to do what they do best -- create and market."

Thumbplay respects and honors the rights of copyright owners. Accordingly, Thumbplay utilizes best-in-class methods available to prevent copyright infringement, such as the state-of-the-art Audible Magic®. Additionally, Thumbplay is fully compliant with all Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown procedures.

Featuring music, videos, games and more, Thumbplay’s extensive and ever-growing entertainment library currently consists of more than 100,000 pieces of licensed content. Their award-winning direct-to-consumer service is accessible on more than 2,000 devices among every major carrier in the U.S.

The company has maintained and grown its leadership position in the industry by providing its consumers with the best possible customer experience, including live, “24/7/365” customer service and a commitment to delivering the largest catalog of entertainment possible. Thumbplay’s “locker” service also allows users to automatically back-up and store purchased items.

Each month, Thumbplay.com gets more than five million unique visitors and its mobile (WAP) site (m.thumbplay.com) receives more than 12 million page views, making it one of the most popular mobile Web sites.

About Thumbplay

Thumbplay, Inc. is defining the mobile entertainment experience for U.S. consumers. As the largest and fastest growing mobile entertainment content destination, Thumbplay gives consumers access to the broadest and deepest catalog in the industry, spanning audio, video and gaming content from the leading music labels and artists, game publishers and media companies. Its innovative delivery and marketing platform makes it easy for users to discover, manage, store and share mobile content online and on their wireless devices.

Headquartered in New York City, Thumbplay was founded in September 2004 by Are Traasdahl and Evan Schwartz. It is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, SoftBank Capital, i-Hatch Ventures, Redwood Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech, Brookside Capital Partners and Cross Creek Capital. More information can be found at http://www.thumbplay.com/ or at m.thumbplay.com from a mobile phone.

Labels: press-release

NEW YORK, September 5, 2008 — Just in time for back-to-school, students can now access top reference materials and study aids right from their cell phones. Many of the best study guides, including the CliffsNotes® and American Heritage® Dictionaries and titles from Scientific American Magazine and the Sierra Club can now be downloaded to phones from www.thumbplay.com and its mobile site (m.thumbplay.com) all brought to you by leading mobile application developer Incelligence.

The new titles span a wide variety of classes and disciplines including:

• English – language and grammar aids, such as 100 Words Almost Everyone Confuses & Misuses, 100 Words Every High School Freshman Should Know, 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know, 100 Words To Make You Sound Smart
• Literature – CliffsNotes® for classic works, including Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Great Expectations, and Julius Caesar
• History – Great American History Fact Finder
• Science – Scientific American: Ask The Experts, Scientific American: Geography, Scientific American: The Human Body, 100 Words Science Words Every College Graduate Should Know
• Mathematics – Scientific American: Mathematical Games
• Reference – Simpson's Contemporary Quotations, History Today!

In addition to the educational titles listed above, Incelligence also has a variety of health and self-help titles including Take Charge of Your Health!, Asthma ConsultantSM from the National Institutes of Health, and Nolo’s Little Legal Companion, as well as “info-tainment” titles such as “Grilling to Go” and “Dating Tips for Men” and “Dating Tips for Women.”

“Our goal is to put useful information at the fingertips of mobile phone users everywhere”, said Byron Bollas, CEO and founder of Incelligence. “We’re very excited to be partnering with an industry leader like Thumbplay to make our applications available to millions of new users.”

“With nearly 85 percent of the U.S. population using cell phones, we’re seeing an increasing demand for ever more engaging and useful content,” said Are Traasdahl, Thumbplay’s CEO and founder. “With Incelligence’s wide range of new mobile content, there is something for everyone. We’re thrilled to add these applications to our ever-expanding content library.”

Thumbplay’s extensive and ever-growing entertainment library currently consists of more than 100,000 pieces of licensed content – including music, videos, games and more. Their direct-to-consumer service is accessible on more than 2,000 devices among every major carrier in the U.S.

Thumbplay has maintained and grown its leadership position in the industry by providing its consumers with the best possible customer experience, including live, “24/7/365” customer service and a commitment to delivering the largest catalog of entertainment possible. Thumbplay’s “locker” service also allows users to automatically back-up and store purchased items.

Each month, Thumbplay.com gets more than five million unique visitors and its mobile (WAP) site (m.thumbplay.com) receives more than 12 million page views, making it one of the most popular mobile Web sites.

About Incelligence, Inc.
Incelligence, Inc.SM is a leader in developing and delivering branded mobile phone applications from top content providers. The company's Mobile Application Factory SM enables the conversion, mobilization and distribution of rich media content to mobile phones, quickly and cost-effectively. Available in both self-contained and client-server formats, Incelligence mobile phone applications are distributed through major wireless carriers and direct to consumer channels around the world. Founded in 2005, Incelligence is privately held and headquartered outside Boston, MA. More information is available at http://www.incelligence.com or m.incelligence.com.

About Thumbplay
Thumbplay, Inc. is defining the mobile entertainment experience for U.S. consumers. As the largest and fastest growing mobile entertainment content destination, Thumbplay gives consumers access to the broadest and deepest catalog in the industry, spanning audio, video and gaming content from the leading music labels and artists, game publishers and media companies. Its innovative delivery and marketing platform makes it easy for users to discover, manage, store and share mobile content online and on their wireless devices.

Headquartered in New York City, Thumbplay was founded in September 2004 by Are Traasdahl and Evan Schwartz. It is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, SoftBank Capital, i-Hatch Ventures, Redwood Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech, Brookside Capital Partners and Cross Creek Capital. More information can be found at www.thumbplay.com or at m.thumbplay.com from a mobile phone.

Labels: press-release

We do (ok so maybe we are partial), and if you agree, please visit Business Week's 2008 "Best of the Web" nomination page, and vote for Thumbplay! Feel free to write in Thumbplay as a candidate in any of the following "Having Fun" subcategories: Music, Games or Video.

Click here to write in Thumbplay for Business Week's 2008 Best of the Web Awards.

Voting ends September 12th.

Bradley Blanken – Formerly of CTIA and Third Screen Media – Named VP, Carrier Business Development

NEW YORK, NY – (September 2, 2008) –Thumbplay® (www.thumbplay.com), the leading mobile entertainment provider in the U.S.*, announced that Bradley Blanken has joined the company as Vice President of Carrier Business Development, effective today. Blanken, who reports to Ken Hayes, Executive Vice President of Carrier Relations, will be responsible for propelling key relationships with wireless carriers. Blanken is based in New York.

Blanken comes with 16 years of experience in the telecommunications and digital fields. Prior to joining Thumbplay, Blanken was Vice President of Carrier Sales at iSkoot, Inc., where he built relationships and developed deals with the largest mobile operators in the world, represented new technology to operators globally and expanded the company’s carrier business model. Previously, he led the Carrier Relations team at Third Screen Media, the mobile advertising software firm acquired by AOL in May of 2007, where he created the MADX|Carrier Interface, enabling carriers to monetize inventory while monitoring third-party consumption.

Blanken has also served as a Director of Business Development at Syniverse Technologies and was the Assistant Vice President of Technology Programs for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), where he acted as the technical and business lead on all CTIA Wireless industry intercarrier issues, from intercarrier SMS to the creation of the U.S. Common Short Code program and wireless AMBER alerts. Blanken has also held leadership positions at Aspiro (formerly Telesta) and Bell Atlantic. He is a former United States Marine.

“Bradley ’s reputation of continually creating and selling innovative business models to carriers will prove invaluable to the Thumbplay team, “ said Are Traasdahl, CEO and Founder of Thumbplay. “His addition signifies our commitment to expanding Thumbplay’s relationships with our existing carrier partners as well as developing new associations.”


About Thumbplay
Thumbplay, Inc. is defining the mobile entertainment experience for U.S. consumers. As the largest and fastest growing mobile entertainment content destination, Thumbplay gives consumers access to the broadest and deepest catalog in the industry, spanning audio, video and gaming content from the leading music labels and artists, game publishers and media companies. Its innovative delivery and marketing platform makes it easy for users to discover, manage, store and share mobile content online and on their wireless devices.

Headquartered in New York City, Thumbplay was founded in September 2004 by Are Traasdahl and Evan Schwartz. It is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, SoftBank Capital, i-Hatch Ventures, Redwood Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech, Brookside Capital Partners and Cross Creek Capital. More information can be found at www.thumbplay.com or at m.thumbplay.com from a mobile phone.

Labels: press-release