AT&T to Offer Sony Movies to Mobile Users

Last week, AT&T announced mobile TV offerings; now, the company says one of its exclusive channels will be PIX, offering full-length mobile version of Sony Pictures movies.

Last week, AT&T announced it was partnering with Qualcomm’s Mediaflo network to bring television programming to its mobile customers beginning next May. Part of that announcement was the claim AT&T would be offering two exclusive channels in additional to selected network programming. Now, the company has revealed what one of those channels will be: PIX, offering mobile versions of full-length films from Sony Pictures. But PIX won’t be a movie-on-demand service: users will tune into films that are already in progress…just like live television.

Sony Pictures plans to tap its library of major film titles to supply the PIX channel, offering movies like Philadelphia,The Karate Kid,Ghostbusters, and Stand By Me to mobile users.

“We recognize that people are on the go with their mobile phone and coming and going,” said Sony Pictures senior VP Eric Berger, to The Hollywood Reporter. “This isn’t for people looking to view a movie for the first time. It’s OK to miss the beginning.” Sony plans to offer individual films on PIX for a month, with new titles being cycled in every week.

The PIX service may not be exclusive to AT&T for very long: Sony is reportedly talking with other mobile carriers about offering the Pix service via other U.S. mobile operators. The real question is whether mobile movies (or even mobile video) will take off in the United States, which has always lagged behind Asia and Europe on the update of video—even short-form clips—on mobile devices.