Thumbplay News

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.

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