CBS expands mobile-content offerings

CBS announced Thursday that it has launched three new sites designed for access on the mobile Web.

The new mobile-content offerings range from pay-to-download clips from Late Show with David Letterman to a breaking-news portal to mobile fantasy football.

"We are breaking new ground with these robust wireless offerings just as we did when we were the first to launch video alerts last year," said Cyriac Roeding, executive vice president of CBS Mobile.

The first of the three new sites, the CBS Mobile Store, is a hub for the sale of multimedia content related to the network's broadcast TV shows--games, ringtones, wallpaper and entertainment features like downloadable alerts and daily horoscopes--with both subscription and one-time download fee options. Additionally, the CBS Mobile Store will feature "Dave TV," a daily video package containing clips of the previous night's episode of David Letterman's late-night talk show.

The other two new mobile sites from CBS both use the wireless application protocol (WAP) standard; the stripped-down Web sites designed for cell phones offer free, ad-supported content. The first, CBS SportsLine, offers sports scores in real time, play-by-play information and player data, as well as control features for participants in the network's fantasy sports leagues. The second network is a mobile version of CBS News, and will feature breaking-news headlines in near real time as well as stories and images.

CBS, which launched its CBS Interactive division in November, has hinted that it will be rolling out more WAP sites in the coming months: mobile versions of CBS Entertainment, the network's Showbuzz.com property, and The CW, the broadcast network that CBS operates in conjunction with Warner Bros. Entertainment.