Idetic Inc. on Tuesday launched its MobiTV live television service on Cingular Wireless's Media Net, the latest example of video services moving to cellular phones.

MobiTV, which is in its second year of operation, is also available on Sprint Corp.'s high-speed network and AT&T Wireless's mMode service. AT&T and Cingular merged last year.

Verizon Wireless is also moving aggressively into offering video services for cellular phones. The company said Monday it had entered into an agreement with Twentieth Television to bring two direct-to-mobile series to customers through its VCAST service, scheduled to launch Feb. 1.

Despite recent announcements from wireless carriers, video delivered over a cellular phone is a very small portion of carriers' sales. Revenues from entertainment and information services, including news, sports, and weather, was less than $50 million in 2004, according to The Yankee Group. The market, however, is expected to explode over the next few years, reaching $1.5 billion by 2008.

For now, wireless subscribers using video services, such as MobiTV, are early adopters willing to pay for the "fun factor," Yankee analyst Linda Barrabee said.

"The challenge is what you can do on today's networks," Barrabee said. "Clearly, we're not talking about broadcast-quality services. There's limitations on what you can do with TV on a cellular phone."

As carriers roll out high-speed, or 3G, networks, however, image quality will improve, Barrabee said. In addition, cellular phones capable of running video will eventually become more affordable, helping to grow the market. Advanced phones today can cost several hundred dollars.

In the meantime, carriers are signing deals with major content providers, while also investing billions of dollars in building out their high-speed networks.

"The big (entertainment) brands that you get in your home, you will want to see on your phone," Barrabee said. "The carriers know that."

MobiTV broadcasts live news, sports and entertainment programming on 22 channels, including MSNBC, CNBC, ABC News Now, NBC Mobile, FOX Sports, Discovery, TLC and C-SPAN.

In the Verizon deal, Twentieth Television will produce 26 one-minute "mobisodes" of each of the serial dramas "Love and Hate" and "The Sunset Hotel." The soap operas are designed for Verizon's VCAST 3G network and Vodafone's 3G Live network. Verizon Wireless is owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone.

MobiTV's service is available through Cingular on special handsets, including the Nokia 6620, Motorola V3 RAZR, Motorola V220, Motorola V180, and soon on the Motorola V400 and V600, officials with Berkeley, Calif., based Idetic said.

MobiTV costs $9.99 per month. A three-day trial is available at no charge. Verizon's VCAST service will start at $15 a month.