NEW YORK - NBC Universal is sponsoring 3rd Dimension Inc.'s Mobileyes ad-supported live mobile traffic video service, an announcement made at ad:tech New York.

Mobileyes is 3rd Dimension's new national mobile advertising network, featuring live video of traffic conditions in many of the largest cities in the United States. The Mobileyes Advertising Network consists of nine current U.S. markets where 3rd Dimension's free consumer real-time traffic service is operating.

"We looking for localized feel to give consumers information that they need in and around where they live and work, and mobile is perfect for that," said Chris Golier, director of mobile development for NBC Universal, New York. "3rd dimension has a great traffic application, which is useful information, and people come to it multiple times per day and it enhances their life.

"Mobileyes fits in well with NBC's advertising strategy," he said. "We can target them and we're able to know more about the consumer through location, behavioral targeting and demographics."

Mobileyes lets consumers use their wireless devices to look ahead at traffic conditions and plan the best route before getting behind the wheel to save time, fuel and aggravation.

Drivers can view real-time traffic video from any of the cameras along their route and can program speed keys on their phone to quickly access their favorites.

To date, more than 200,000 drivers across the country have downloaded Mobileyes onto their mobile devices.

The application is available as a free download in Apple's App Store.

Interactive ads appear during the six to ten second intervals preceding the display of live traffic video. The ads are served in rotation and can be purchased for both specific day parts and locations.

The announcement was made at the ad:tech New York conference this week for interactive marketing professionals.

"When it comes to advertising, we believe that contextual is better," Mr. Golier said.

"We promote Mobileyes on NBC Nightly News TV broadcasts, 15-second reels explaining product and a call to action with an 800-number where consumers can opt-in to receive a text message that starts the download process.

"We promote Mobileyes online through contextual integration with regional stations' Web sites, each of which has its own localized traffic application, which is consistently one of the most trafficked areas on the sites," he said.

"The level of engagement you get with mobile, for some of our platforms out of home you don't necessariy get that."

NBC has WAP sites for all of its properties, each of its local stations send out SMS alerts and the company has mobile video applications.

"Mobile a piece of a larger media play," Mr. Golier said. "We're actively out there selling and promoting everything we're doing with mobile, packing mobile with other platforms attractive to advertisers."

Until now, 3rd Dimension's local media partners have sold advertising space on a market-by-market basis, serving up more than 3.5 million ads in the past three months.

"Now, as the mobile advertising market is enjoying explosive growth and we continue to expand our mobile traffic network, we are better suited to work with advertisers on a national level," Eric Joseph, president and chief operating officer of 3rd Dimension, New York.

"They become our promotion and sales arm, and we tap into the expertise of NBC, and they help us reach mass amounts of people very quickly."

Mobileyes is currently available in New York; Los Angeles; Washington; Detroit; Houston; Kansas City, MO; Hartford, CT; Knoxville, TN; and Indianapolis, operating under a variety of local brand names developed by 3rd Dimension's local market media partners.

3rd Dimension Inc. is a mobile marketing and application company. Its Mobileyes content delivery platform distributes real-time video content, including its free traffic service, to a wide variety of mobile devices.

The applications are designed to attract targeted audiences that are attractive to advertisers and marketers. The platform is carrier-agnostic and can be accessed on any Web-enabled phone.

While most Mobileyes users are males living in upper-income ZIP codes who use smartphones, Mobileyes' demographic seems to be expanding.

"We serve display advertising, but with an interactive component, taking consumers to a landing page, Web site or mobile coupon," Mr. Joseph said. "We use geo-targeting, and our next version will have click-to-call, while video ads will probably be included in January or February of next year.

"We've grown from being a series of local, disparate entities to finding a common thread and putting it into a hub-and-spoke," he said. "NBC's digital sales team is selling the inventory, and we're proud to be integrated into that sales unit.

"We're looking to engage users where they are and where they want to be by providing great content and providing advertisers with a nationwide reach with a local feel."