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Comment on Broadcasters Race Towards Mobile TV by Karl

Karl — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:04:40 +0000

Free TV via DVB-H (or another broadcast technology) may be a success in terms of consumer take-up but if the service is free mobile operators may not invest in promoting the service and may be unwilling to offer/subsidise the handsets. And if no one is making money then who will build the network?

If the mobile operators don’t generate revenue and don’t actively support the service then it is unlikely that the consumer will benefit from advanced services e.g. unified broadcast and streaming services, EPG, personalised advertising, etc. Also free TV will not facilitate premium sports content which will be a significant driver of take-up.

There may be a logic in offering some free channels which would drive awareness and usage and then encourage users to avail of pay-TV channel packages -this would generate a true value chain for all concerned.

Comment on Amy Poehler’s “Smart Girls” Delayed by “Smart Girls” Launched Today «

“Smart Girls” Launched Today « — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:22:25 +0000

[...] including mobile, will be announced, says an ON Networks’ spokesperson. As reported here, the initial October launch of “Smart Girls” was delayed by Poehler’s pregnancy. [...]

Comment on Playboy Set to Launch Made-for-Mobile Series by Playboy to make mini-films for mobiles | Electricpig

Playboy to make mini-films for mobiles | Electricpig — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:06:35 +0000

[...] TBC | £TBC | Playboy (via MobilezedTV) [...]

Comment on Playboy Set to Launch Made-for-Mobile Series by Playboy set to launch Made-for-Mobile Series « WebTV Guide

Playboy set to launch Made-for-Mobile Series « WebTV Guide — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:32:51 +0000

[...] can read the whole article here. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIANo [...]

Comment on Broadcasters Race Towards Mobile TV by Jason DaPonte

Jason DaPonte — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:30:14 +0000

I’m surprised there’s no mention of the example that has been set in the Korean market and in other international tests that have been done. Granted they use different standards but I think there are lessons to be learned with regard to content and interfaces/products.

What I’ve seen has backed up the idea that audiences want a similar experience to what they have on the go - but with advanced functionality that’s specific to their phone. I saw what was effectively a handset-based PVR that could access the contacts list to transfer programmes while I was in Korea. Great stuff and a great example for the rest of us.

If anyone’s interested, here’s my post on mobile broadcasting in Korea from a recent visit there - with pics of handsets, interfaces etc: http://jasondaponte.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/xmedia-lab-korea-mobile-tv/

Comment on Broadcasters Race Towards Mobile TV by anonymous

anonymous — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:43:12 +0000

“Harris has already announced they’ll be able to have product by end of October.”

That’s October 2008, right?

Comment on Broadcasters Race Towards Mobile TV by Enda

Enda — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:25:09 +0000

In Germany it has been a case of media companies rushing in, where carriers are not allowed to tread. And with two different technologies in the last four years not achieving much take-up. Just like the Watchman, free-TV is more convenient, the mobile TV content not any more compelling than specially-purposed content being unicast by carriers. If you’re going to start by asking mobile users to replace their handsets, you’r in for a long wait before it will be a game-changer, no matter how good the content and ease-of-use are.

Comment on Broadcasters Race Towards Mobile TV by Debra Kaufman

Debra Kaufman — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:23:40 +0000

The lack of a business model is certainly the biggest criticism of the broadcasters’ plans. And, yes, it would be nice to have one in place before launching. We seem to be engaged in one of those “throw the spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks” scenarios.
That said, I think the broadcasters think they already HAVE a business plan that’s worked pretty well for them for over half a century, and that they’ll figure out how to adapt it to a new medium. Right or wrong? Time will tell….

Comment on Broadcasters Race Towards Mobile TV by Bill Sanders

Bill Sanders — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:51:59 +0000

Every observation about the carriers and most existing mobile video implementations is absolutely correct. Their solution, however, doesn’t seem to answer the problems their extensive research and analysis uncovered.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have some decent business models in place first (or usage models, for that matter)? They’ve come up with another supply-driven scheme (we’re good at doing local live TV–what the consumer needs is live local TV! Studios: we’ve got lots of filmed long-from entertainment. What the consumer needs is filmed long-form entertainment! Etc.)

Meanwhile, in Japan, the free one-seg system co-transmits the same feed as on live OTA free (ad-supported) channels. They are treated and regulated as OTA broadcast TV, to the extent that OEM’s are building DVR capability into the handsets. Will the broadcasters of the OMVC in the US allow this? If it’s free and identical to OTA, will they have the right to NOT allow it?

If real-time broadcast of a limited number of channels to a portable device were such a compelling draw, shouldn’t we all be walking around with Sony WatchMen? Haven’t they been around for about 25 years?

Comment on Targeted Advertising: Is Mobile the Holy Grail? by » update market news XXXIV» Blog Archive » nugg.ad blog

» update market news XXXIV» Blog Archive » nugg.ad blog — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:36:54 +0000

[...] Advertising: Is Mobile the Holy Grail? Bytemobile is making the mobile phone a friendlier platform for video and, thus, [...]