14 DAY TRIAL // BBC Worldwide has just licensed programmes for use on mobile phones in a deal with technology firm ROK Player, which also holds the licenses for animated characters Wallace and Gromit and SpongeBob Squarepants.
For starters, the miniaturized versions of classic BBC programmes to go on mobile phones are "Doctor Who" and "Red Dwarf".
And the very first release is "The Five Doctors", a cult "Doctor Who" episode from 1983. The 90-minute special united through some basic computer trickery the five Time Lords in a battle against the Daleks and the Cybermen.
The second to be released is a package of three "Red Dwarf"cult sci-fi comedy episodes, including fan's favorite Cassandra from series eight.
This is now possible due to digital video chips that allow phone users to view feature-length films and programmes regardless of network coverage. The programmes are pre-recorded on the Sim card-sized chips which slot into the multi-media memory card holder in the phone and the film automatically loads. It can be viewed on any video-enabled handset with a memory card.
Each of those chips holds up to two hours of entertainment and comes with high-quality pictures despite the reduced size of the mobile screen, according to ROK Player, which invested 10 million pounds in creating the software.
The chips will be available for sale in Nokia stores and Choice video outlets at the price of 17pounds each piece, double the price of a downloaded iTunes album, but close to the latest Hollywood DVDs.