3 today announces the launch of a new range of free-to-access content for customers on its Planet 3 portal. Working in partnership with Rhythm New Media, the new service will be supported by personalised advertising from major brands, meaning content that was previously paid for can now be viewed for free by customers.

The new ad-supported service will be available to 3's customers from April and represents the realisation of a new business model for the mobile content business. With the launch of ad-funded content 3 has significantly increased the range of video content available to customers for free. Video content been made available on the portal free includes a selection of news, comedy, celebrity gossip, animations and film. These services will continue to sit alongside existing premium entertainment and information services, such as full-length music tracks and mobile games.

3's ad-funded video content offering presents brands with a new opportunity to deliver targeted and personalised advertising to a hard-to-access demographic. Brand advertising clients that have confirmed for the launch of the service in April include Microsoft and Unilever.

Brands will be able to buy advertising space based on the demographics of the customer watching it. Before viewing the free content for the first time customers will be asked to submit basic demographic data (age and gender) which can be used by brands to target their advertising more effectively. In addition, the advertising can be frequency regulated, meaning that a brand can define how many times an individual sees a specific ad, preventing wasted impressions and removing the risk of advertising fatigue.

Rhythm NewMedia is responsible both for the sales of the advertising inventory created by the launch as well as for serving the ads on the service itself.