Amp’d Winds Down

LOS ANGELES, July 25: After declaring bankruptcy June 1, the
youth targeted mobile service Amp’d Mobile has said it will cease operations on
July 31 and that it is still in discussions to be bought out by another
carrier.

MTV and Universal Music Group are among the companies listed
as investors in Amp’d, which has been aligning with major content players since
its December 2005 launch. At its inception it had shored up agreements with CBS
and the then UPN to carry show clips and other content. It also partnered with
several Hollywood production outfits, including LivePlanet—founded by
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck—and Bunim Murray, to develop original mobile
content. Earlier this year, it announced a partnership with MTV Networks to create
and distribute original made-for-mobile episodic series that would appear
exclusively on Amp'd. One of Amp’d’s original creations, Lil’ Bush, has since become a full-fledged animated series on
the MTV Networks-owned Comedy Central.

Amp’d leases its mobile network from Verizon Wireless, which
is said to be owed more than $50 million by the company.