BlackBerry has finally started to monetize its BBM service

BlackBerry has been looking at ways to monetise its BBM service for a while, and the company has finally given BBM Channels owners and advertises ways to promote their content, as promised back in March. To further that cause, it has announced new partnerships to expand its ad sales network. Additionally, the Canadian company announced that it now has 1.1 million BBM Channels. For the uninitiated, BlackBerry’s BBM Channels are community-based broadcast groups or forums that allow people, brands and communities to interact with each other. “BBM will also connect BBM Channel users with brands and businesses they may be interested in following within the Feeds area of BBM,” BlackBerry added. Announcing the news, Matthew Talbot, Senior Vice President, Emerging Solutions at BlackBerry on the company’s Inside BlackBerry Business blog writes, “We’re monetizing BBM in several ways now that it’s no longer tied to the BlackBerry operating system, and open to iPhone, Android, and Windows devices. Targeted mobile ads and sponsored content are two important parts of that strategy, and we’re seeing this across the social industry.”