MTV, NBA store in PayPal cellular text deal

By Eric Auchard and Sinead Carew

SAN FRANCISCO/LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Online payment company PayPal on Thursday said MTV and the National Basketball Association and others will accept payment from its new service offering purchases by mobile phone text message.

The move by PayPal, a unit of online auctioneer eBay Inc., marks a big step in further bridging the worlds of electronic commerce and brick-and-mortar stores, by giving consumers a pay option via telephone.

PayPal Mobile lets consumers instantly buy goods and services, such as compact discs, DVDs and apparel, by sending product codes via text message.

PayPal signed up News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, NBC Universal's Bravo, Viacom Inc.'s MTV, and the NBA Store for its Text to Buy service.....for more of the story from Reuters