Rivals Cashes In On Growing Demand For SMS Packages

Rivals Digital Media has secured the contract to create tailored SMS services for The Carphone Warehouse and The Link for the second year running.

The digital media company has created two improved variations of its ‘Goalflash’ football package, which provides mobile phone users with league-table updates and team line-up information. Football fans can subscribe to a full season package for £29.99 or a 30-day package for £4.99.

Commenting on the deal, Oli Roxburgh, head of mobile services for Rivals Digital Media, said: “The Carphone Warehouse and The Link were early adopters of retailing SMS packages, but it has proved to be a service which is seeing continual growth in uptake.”

Rivals, which is currently developing an enhanced MMS service in the run up to Christmas, has also signed a deal with electrical retailer, Dixons, to produce a sports focussed text alert product, which will be available in-store.

Despite fears that the text messaging craze was losing momentum, the latest figures from the Mobile Data Association show that over 50 million person to person text messages were sent each day during the A-Level and GCSE results period, pushing July’s text message total 1.35 billion (see Exam Results Boost July’s Text Message Total).

Magazine publisher, I Feel Good, also recently announced plans to cash in on the popularity of text messaging, with the launch of an interactive SMS service for Viz and Bizarre readers (see Viz and Bizarre To Drive Revenue With SMS Launch).

Rivals Digital Media: 0208 9621300 www.rivals.net

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