Coming Soon: Porn on Your Cell Phone

Sept. 17, 2007 — -- The tech-savvy among us can already watch news clips, music videos and sports highlights on our cell phones. Now, the adult entertainment industry is trying to make sure that you'll be able to watch porn on your hand-held devices as well.

It's not the first time the porn industry has been at the forefront of technology. Developments in VHS, DVD and the Internet were led by some of the biggest adult entertainment companies looking for the cheapest possible way to distribute their often times low-budget films to the widest audience.

Apparently, that strategy has worked. At Vivid Entertainment in Hollywood, Calif., one of the industry's biggest companies, VHS and DVD sales once brought in the majority of profits. Today, the company says that the Internet and video-on-demand, both in hotel rooms and on Pay-Per-View, bring in a major chunk of the company's revenue.

Some of the porn industry's movers and shakers are looking toward the future again, and they have their eyes on your cell phone.

The concept of watching porn on phones has already taken off in parts of Europe, where adult moviemakers have been marketing the product for years. But it has yet to catch on in the United States.

"I think that's a business that hasn't yet happened in the U.S., but I think ultimately will," Vivid Entertainment CEO Steve Hirsch said. "People like to download a clip and send it to a friend and check out this girl and check out this scene."

Unlike what is offered in Europe, U.S. porn executives are not planning to market full-length videos, but instead short clips. They believe that Americans — mainly men — will be more comfortable sending each other short sex scenes and videos of girls stripping than they would watching full-length, hard-core videos on their morning commutes.

"We don't know how that's going to play out, and the next few years are going to tell the story," Hirsch said.

On the Northridge, Calif., set of the adult film "Busting the Babysitter" porn actress Kayden Kross said she thinks there are clear benefits to offering porn on cell phones.

"I think any type of hand-held technology is eventually going to have porn access," said Kross, who began appearing in adult films less than a year ago and says she is working on her psychology degree from Sacramento State University.