MUMBAI: Star India is introducing the concept of mobile-enabled episode (mobisode) to Indian television. The company has associated with Hutch to create 'mobisodes' of the successful Star One comedy show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (TGILC).

A 'mobisode' is a brief episode of a video programme designed to be viewed on a mobile phone. Starting 10 October, Hutch subscribers across the country will be able to download video clips of the most intriguing moments of the programme through HutchWorld on their GPRS enabled Hutch phones.

Hutch's GPRS customers will be able to download the 'mobisodes' of 20 seconds duration while Edge customers can have the luxury of watching 40-seconds 'mobisodes', according to Star India senior vice president Interactive Services Viren Popli. Hutch will be charging Rs. 10 per download. Subscribers can also call 7827 to listen to the TGILC jokes at a cost of Rs. 6.

Apart from 'mobisodes' and jokes, Star will also launch caller tunes on TGILC. Jokes figured in the show will be available to Hutch customers as caller tunes.

Speaking to indiantelevision.com about the new initiative, Star One programming head Ravi Menon stated the success of TGILC as 'mobisodes' would decide the company's future strategies on mobisodes. "Presently, we are testing the waters with TGILC. We have plans to launch 'mobisodes' of some of our successful shows and the TGILC experiment will decide our future plans," Menon said.

In a June 2005 interview with indiantelevision.com, Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea had spelt out 'mobisodes' as one key area Star India was looking to tap for growth. "At Star, we'll have to explore how this 'mobisode' theme could be exploited for revenue. Probably, we'll make one-minute mobisodes of the most popular serial of Star Plus. Definitely there is an opportunity," he had said.