Video ringtone developer Vringo will launch its service in Turkey, following an agreement with Turkish mobile operator Avea.
Avea will offer Vringo's service first to customers of its youth platform Patlican. The carrier plans to roll Vringo out across its broader subscriber base later in the year.
The deal will offer Vringo’s video ringtone application and a library of over 4,000 video clips exclusively to Patlican members. Beit Shemesh-based Vringo will also offer subscribers a library of pay-per-clip premium video ringtones, culled from the company’s relationships with international content owners such as leading music aggregator INGrooves and local Turkish content partners.
Avea will lead a marketing drive to push for subscriptions to the service.
Vringo CEO Jon Medved said, “Analysts estimate that 50% of ringtone revenues will come from video ringtones as early as 2010; it’s our mission to make that a reality." Medved added that the youth-oriented customer base of Avea's platform was a good market for the Vringo brand.
Avea has more than 11 million subscribers. “Our young subscribers, registered to our youth platform Patlican, are among the most cutting-edge and creative mobile users", said Avea chief marketing officer M. Ilker Kocak.
Investors in Vringo include Warburg Pincus Private Equity, Daniel Ciporin, and other private investors. Vringo was founded by Medved and CTO David Goldfarb.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 29, 2008
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