XOS, Digital Orchid target college fans through wireless

XOS Technologies Inc. and wireless content developer Digital Orchid Inc. have agreed to a multiyear partnership designed to expand significantly the level of mobile offerings dedicated to college sports.

The deal calls for the companies to develop content such as live and archived video and audio, in-game scoring, photo archives, and news feeds using XOS’s foothold in developing digital offerings for college athletic programs and Digital Orchid’s established base in creating and distributing content via wireless carriers.

“There’s not really much out there for college fans right now,” said Bobby Betros, Digital Orchid co-founder and chief technology officer. “It’s way behind a lot of other properties. Your options right now are pretty much logos and fight songs, and a lot of them aren’t really very good quality ones at that. … There’s a lot of room to move forward in this space.”

Financial terms were not disclosed, but similar arrangements in the mobile industry have often centered on revenue-sharing agreements. Specific mobile offerings, to be marketed primarily through colleges’ athletic Web sites and the content decks of mobile devices, will become available for the 2006 college football season with a similar push for basketball to follow.

“Neither one of us are consumer-facing brands, but this was an area we needed to ramp up to really offer a one-stop solution,” said XOS Network President Nada Usina.