The Cell—no, not the J. Lo flick—but a made-for mobile show, produced by Endemol, has been purchased by Fox International Channels as its first online-only property, Brand Republic reports. The program, which covered a span of 20 episodes in two-minute chunks, got play in the U.K. on O2 and on Sony’s crackle.com in the U.S. Now under News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), the program will be broadcast on thecell.tv, a site that can’t be accessed in the U.S. or Canada, and additional sites the company plans to launch in October for British audiences.

Mobile is slowly but surely getting recognized as a breeding ground for fresh talent. While most programming comes to mobile from a top down approach, originating on TV, there are potential fits we’ve seen where mobile shows do move up to TV and online. There hasn’t been a ton of content originating on mobile that then finds its way to PC and TV screens, but it’s not unheard of either. In the first deal of its kind back in late 2006, Comedy Central picked up rights to air Lil’ Bush: Resident of the United States, an animated series produced by Amp’d Mobile. The episodes on Amp’d were five minutes long whereas Comedy Central packaged future shows to fill the usual 30-minute TV show lot. The show continues to do well on Comedy Central.

• Comedy Central To Pick Up Amp’d Mobisode For TV