SEOUL, South Korea–Coming to cell phones soon: reality shows and cartoons.

Samsung plans to release a phone that can receive satellite TV signals and launch a service package that lets customers receive up to 40 stations. The company expects to launch both the service and the handset, called the Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) phone, in the third quarter.

The phone and service at first will be available only in South Korea, but the company often brings phones to other markets after assessing domestic sales, Ike Chung, vice president of mobile sales and marketing for Samsung, said in an interview here. He added that Samsung developed the chip that makes the DMB service possible.

Chung also said that another product–a phone with a built-in BlackBerry device–will come out in the fourth quarter.

A number of phone manufacturers already sell handsets that can receive and send personal video and TV broadcasts over the cellular network. South Korean carriers, for example, have been able to deliver full programs across cellular networks since 2002. With that method, however, cost is a major problem.

“Watching a 90-minute soccer game costs about $260,” said Sauk-Hun Song, principal analyst at research company Gartner.

Carriers offering DMB service will likely charge a more affordable flat rate for it, he said, adding that SK Telecom, a local carrier, is expected to launch a DMB satellite soon.

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