London, UK (PRWEB) March 31, 2008 -- Mobile operator 3 UK today announced the launch of the first ad supported, commercial mobile music video service in conjunction with Sony BMG Music Entertainment(UK). The service, powered by Rhythm NewMedia, is available to all 3 UK customers and is accessed through 3's music homepage. Customers can now watch their favourite music videos from artists on their mobile phones anywhere and at any time.
The new Sony BMG video collection is the latest addition to 3's existing free mobile video service. The service is offered to customers with no data charges and is supported by short, targeted video ads. Rhythm NewMedia both sells and delivers a targeted and personalized video ad before the music video based on demographic data collected. This new service complements the existing 3MusicStore, and will also offer links to purchase products.

"We are excited to be offering this first-of-a-kind service to all 3 UK customers. Rhythm NewMedia is a leading force in ad-funded mobile video entertainment, and it is a key part of our mobile strategy to make our artists' music videos more widely available on the mobile platform," said Alex Vlassopulos, Head of Business Development, SONY BMG Music Entertainment(UK).

3 UK Head of on Portal Advertising, Neil Andrews said "We know that our customers want to receive high-quality content on their mobiles and that they're happy to view ads in order to receive it. This agreement with SONY BMG and Rhythm NewMedia enables us to meet that demand with some of the best music content around. We were the first to market with an ad-supported mobile video service and now we're building on that with the industry's first mobile music service."

Rhythm Director of Commercial Partnerships, Mike Fletcher said "We're happy to have more great videos to showcase and are excited about the success we've already had to date providing videos to 3 UK customers. It's great that customers have been expressing such high satisfaction with our service, and are happy to watch content which is supported by short video ads."

About 3 UK:
3 is a mobile operator focused on bringing the benefits of the internet to mobile communications. We offer attractive pricing and give our customers the widest choice of ways to stay connected at home or abroad. To do this we're building the UK's best high-speed mobile broadband network. 3 UK is a member of the HWL group of 3G companies, which include 3G operations in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy Macau and Sweden.

Three facts about 3:
- 3 launched the UK's first 3G network offering national coverage for calls and texts, and has over 90% population coverage for 3G services. As we consolidate our radio access network with T-Mobile we expect to reach almost complete UK population coverage for 3G by the end of 2008.
- 3 has over 3 million active customers in the UK and over 16 million worldwide.
- 3 was the first to enable free voice over internet calling with Skype and the first to launch a dedicated Skype mobile phone, the 3 Skypephone.

For more information about 3 UK, please visit www.three.co.uk or call the 3 Media Office on 0845 6038333.

SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT UK is the UK arm of global recorded music joint venture Sony BMG with an extensive roster of local and international artists, as well as a vast catalogue that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. SONY BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann A.G. and 50% owned by Sony Corporation of America

About Rhythm NewMedia:
Rhythm NewMedia offers turnkey mobile advertising solutions, including video, games and banners. Rhythm's offering includes ad serving, ad sales and content sourcing. Rhythm's patent-pending ad platform enables broad reach, sharp targeting, precise frequency management, high customer satisfaction, extensive reporting and automation of business processes. Rhythm provides unique real-time measurement of ad effectiveness and customer satisfaction. Leading mobile operators 3-UK, Telecom Italia, Vodafone Spain and T-Mobile-UK are currently using Rhythm's solution, with several more coming. Rhythm is also working with top brands, content providers and advertising agencies worldwide. Investors include The Carlyle Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures and Rembrandt Venture Partners. For more information please visit: www.rhythmnewmedia.com