Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY): Another Revenue Stream?

The struggles surrounding Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) BlackBerry have been well documented. The company that was once at the top of the smartphone world has plummeted down a few pegs and is currently looking to regain its footing.

While BlackBerry is making a comeback, thanks to its new operating system, BlackBerry 10, it still has a long way to go.

With Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) BlackBerry BBM Channels coming soon, now is the time to start thinking about what this means to the company in an overall sense.

Early indications are that this service is going to do big things for BlackBerry. People seem to be excited about BBM Channels and what this is going to offer. Even more so, once the feature goes cross platform the company is hoping that things really begin to pick up.

With all this in mind, the big question is this: will Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) BlackBerry be able to cash in on this service? Will they be able to monetize BBM Channels as a means of bringing another revenue stream into the company?

You can be rest assured that BlackBerry is considering this idea, most notably, in the form of “Sponsored Invites.”

This is an idea the company has been toying with, since running a survey in the BlackBerry Beta Zone asking users how they feel about sponsored invites.

When you think about it, this would not be any different than what Twitter and Facebook are doing. Of course, this doesn’t mean it would work out for BlackBerry in the long run.

According to BerryReview.com, here is what Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) BlackBerry had to say:

“Channel owners will be allowed to advertise their Channels by sending invites to BBM users within the channel owner’s target demographic.  Users will receive the invite, and be able to preview the Channel, then choose to subscribe or decline the invitation to subscribe.  This will be a limited ad unit, with users never receiving more than 3 sponsored invites in a single month.”

It appears that BlackBerry is thinking of more than just making money, as they are putting a limit on the number of invites a user would be able to receive during a single month. This would help keep the user experience at a high level.

Whether or not Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) BlackBerry moves forward with this idea is yet to be seen, however, it appears to be in the works.