WORLDWIDE HIT TELEVISION SERIES “24” INSPIRES FIRST-EVER DRAMATIC SERIES FOR VIEWING ON MOBILE PHONES
“24: Conspiracy” First Offering in Groundbreaking Partnership Between Fox Entertainment Group and Vodafone
November 10, 2004, Hollywood, CA — The worldwide hit television series “24” will expand into the wireless space with the first original dramatic series produced exclusively for transmission and enjoyment on personal cellar telephones as part of a unique deal between Fox Entertainment Group (FEG) and Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile community. As part of the overall deal, FEG’s Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation has licensed to Vodafone the rights to distribute “24: Conspiracy”, an original live-action thriller inspired by the Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning drama “24” that will be composed of characters and actors entirely unique from those on the broadcast series. “24: Conspiracy” will be distributed exclusively by Vodafone on mobile phones beginning in January, 2005.
Under the deal, Vodafone will distribute in up to 23 countries twenty-four serialized mobisodes™, each approximately 60-seconds in length, that will premiere in each territory in tandem with their local premiere and be available every week exclusively to Vodafone live! with 3G customers throughout the run of the television show’s upcoming fourth season. The localized scheduling serves to give Vodafone and each local territory the unique and valuable opportunity to cross-promote the launch of the mobile series with the fourth season premiere of the television series. “24: Conspiracy” will have its worldwide launch on January 30, 2005 in the United Kingdom to coincide with the fourth season premiere of “24” on the British television service SKYOne. Vodafone live! with 3G is Vodafone’s newly launched multimedia consumer offering, bringing customers an enhanced world of mobile communication and services such as video calling, video and picture messaging, music, games, ringtones and sports and news information. The deal with Vodafone was brokered by Lucy Hood, Senior Vice President of Content and Marketing for News Corp., who oversees the Fox Wireless Entertainment Group. Plans are underway to distribute “24: Conspiracy” through Verizon Wireless in the United States in 2005.
“Joel Surnow, Bob Cochran, Howard Gordon, Kiefer Sutherland and their entire creative team have built ‘24’ into one of the world’s leading television brands. It’s incumbent upon us at the studio to continually develop new initiatives to service, enhance and extend that brand,” commented Twentieth Century Fox Television President Gary Newman. “The ‘24’ mobile series and the licensing and marketing partnership with world wireless leader Vodafone are truly unprecedented in our business, as they capitalize on the absolute latest in technological innovation and represent a whole new way to reach our fans and promote the original television series.”
Graeme Ferguson, Executive Head of Content Development, Vodafone Group, said “At Vodafone we are in the business of delighting our customers and this agreement with Twentieth Century Fox, in what is a worldwide mobile first, exemplifies our ability to do just this. ‘24’ is a truly exciting and massively popular show which Vodafone live! with 3G customers can continue to follow beyond their TV screens and onto those of their mobile phones.”
Designed to be seen on 3G mobile phones equipped with the world’s most advanced video capable technology, “24: Conspiracy” will give “24” fans the unique opportunity to race from their television sets every week to their cell phones to catch the latest “mobisode.” All twenty-four installments of “24: Conspiracy” will run sixty seconds with a cliffhanger ending leading directly into the next installment, culminating in a shattering final episode in which all questions will be answered.
Like the television series, the story concerns the operations of agents working for the Counterterrorist Unit, an arm of the CIA devoted to preventing and responding to terrorist attacks on American soil. In the series first “mobisode,” when the beautiful and dangerous rogue federal agent Susan Walker murders a high-ranking government official, it’s a race against time for agent Martin Kail to bring her to justice. But is she the true enemy of the state? Or is Kail a pawn in a conspiracy so deep that no one—not even his own bosses in the government’s Counterterrorist Unit—can be trusted?
The series is produced by Spark Hill Productions, with Eric Young serving as executive producer. “24: Conspiracy” stars Beverly Bryant as Susan Walker, Dylan Bruce as Martin Kail, and Steve Kramer as James Sutton.
