Mobile TV

Friday, September 22, 2006

Broadcast mobile TV to take hold in 2007

Mobile broadcast services are anticipated to take hold in the US next year, with approximately 4 million subscribers receiving mobile TV and related services on their handsets via technologies such as DVB-H and MediaFLO by the end of 2007.

Senior analyst Ken Hyers, with ABI Research notes that the driving force behind broadcast adoption will be the lack of capacity to deliver similar services over cellular. "The presence of as few as five users simultaneously receiving unicast content from a single cellular base station carrier band can seriously degrade data access for those subscribers. This is further confirmation that broadcast is the only way to get mass market uptake of these services. Already, the market is bearing out that broadcast is the essential method for offering these services," he said.

A recent ABI Research study, "Broadcast and Unicast Mobile TV Services, forecasts that in 2011, mobile TV services will have some 514 million subscribers worldwide. Of that total 460 million will be subscribers to broadcast services.

Broadcast services are expected to have 1.5 million subscribers by the end of 2006, with a majority of US subscribers using services enabled by the wireless carriers' broadcast network partners, including Qualcomm's MediaFLO, Aloha's Hiwire network, and Crown Castle's Modeo service.

Though ABI Research believes that most of these services will debut at a $10 per month subscription in the US through operators such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel, advertising will become an increasingly important source of revenue for mobile broadcast video, and will serve to subsidise high-quality programming.

(c) Telecoms.com

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Thursday, September 21, 2006

Movies for mobiles

The Australian movie industry just got a lot smaller following last week's launch of the Portable Film Festival which is beaming out free video content to users of mobile phones and MP3s.

The project was inspired by the rapid growth of online video content and the growing obsession with portable media players, said festival director, Andrew Apostola.

Running until October 22nd, it is showcasing sixty seven pre-selected entries on its website which can either be watched online or downloaded free onto a selection of portable devices including 3G phones, Sony PSPs, video iPods, and laptops.

Users can also rate the movies which were chosen from more than 250 submissions based on their suitability to the small screen, use of digital technology and strong storylines.

With about fifty per cent of the films created by Australians, and other submissions from 13 different countries, Mr Apostola said he hoped the festival would "act as an independent path for filmmakers wanting to reach an international online and portable media audience".

Iain Anderson, whose short film Airport' was selected to run at the festival, said although mobile films were typically much simpler in format than traditional films, the opportunities for the medium were enormous given the rapid adoption of online video content.

"I like idea of having something small and podcastable in bite-sized pieces and Airport is an easy film to digest," he said.

Airport is a two-minute animation designed for viewing on a plane and was first aired at the Sydney Film Festival last year where it was viewed by one or two hundred people.

See it:


After appearing at the festival, his film was featured on the Boing Boing blog where Mr Anderson estimates up to 60,000 people viewed it in a single month.

"Just getting the work seen is great, but after it was picked up by Boing Boing I was contacted by Microsoft about doing some animation work and I ended up flying to Boston to make a short film for them," he said.

Viewers are being invited to download and rate the material which has been compressed for compatibility with portable devices and submissions will compete across two main categories.

A viewers' choice award will be based on viewers votes with the winner receiving $2000 and a frontpage spot on MySpace, while a Filmmakers' Peer-Review award will be decided by participating filmmakers, awarding the winner with $6000 worth of editing software.

Organisers estimate that about 20,000 unique visitors have so far visited the festival website with some from as far afield as South America and the Czech Republic.

The Portable Film Festival is not the only venture currently exhibiting locally-created mobile entertainment. Metro Screen, the Sydney film resource centre is preparing to announce winners for its DigiBytes competition, established as part of its 25 year celebrations.

Digibytes' submissions comprise content created specifically for mobile phones, and Metro has already selected eight finalists - all of which can be downloaded to a Bluetooth-enabled video phone from its website. The centre is also exhibiting three guest works from professional film-makers and winners of the DigiBytes competition will be announced on Friday.

Another one:



(c) Sidney Morning Herald

YouTube teams with Cingular, ABC for talent hunt

YouTube, the popular online video sharing service, is teaming up with major marketing and media partners for a competition to discover the most talented unsigned bands on its site.

The promotion announced on Wednesday, called YouTube Underground, is the latest step by the start-up company to build a mainstream media model around the thousands of videos uploaded by users and viewed more than 100 million times a day.

Bands can submit original videos from October 2 through October 18 and site visitors will vote for their favorites. The finalists will appear on ABC's "Good Morning America" show. Walt Disney Co. owns the ABC network.

Cingular Wireless also has signed on as a major sponsor.

YouTube, based in San Mateo, California, has been working on signing licensing deals with music companies and TV networks to ensure they are paid when users view their content.

Earlier this week, YouTube announced its first deal to distribute music videos legally from a major music company by agreeing a deal with Warner Music Group, home to Madonna and James Blunt.

Using technology developed by YouTube, Warner Music will be able to identify which of its music videos and audio tracks are consumed and get paid for them. It can also use the system to identify copyright infringing material posted by users and ask YouTube to remove such material.

(c) Reuters

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@Mobile Content World: Should operators stick to operating?

Should operators stick to operating, or try and become content providers? Graham Thomas, VP of T-Mobile's content services said the best way is to work in partnership with content providers. iO Global's founder -- Brendan Dowling said operators need to bring in more content-focused people than before in their new role as facilitators of this new generation of consumer-generated content. That new role is to help people create, find, store and access all that content.
– O2's head of mobile data marketing Graeme Ridell said it's not all about content snacking. eBay is proving very popular, for example. "That's not snacking - they have a reason to look. It's about trying to marry those type of service s where people don't snack but use mobile regularly".
– T-Mobile's VP of content services Graham Thomas added that pricing is important too - techniques like capping costs at Ј1 on certain download sites are reassuring for the consumer.
Dowling said a lot of commercial operators need to change their thinking on premium content. News, weather, info and horoscopes can't be a very big market. "My philosophy is that you give them the content for free, bring them in and give them the mobile experience."
A couple of snippets: starting a mobile business now is a good time - like starting a web business in 1997. Another from the ‘dragon's den' panel said the best time to raise venture money is when you don't need it...

(c) MocoNews

@Mobile Content World: Operators Must Work With Content Providers, Against Them

Operators must work with content providers because, quite simply, they have the content that consumers want. 3's head of content partnerships Mark Nichols said customers aren't drawn to networks or labels but to brands, so that means working in partnership with the specialists. In terms of music, 3's own music download service gets around 1.3 million downloads per week and charges 99p per track. Dropping the rate from Ј1.50 triggered a massive growth in use, said Nichols. "We'd all like the margins to be higher but we do make money. It's not a lost leader. I know Steve Jobs says he doesn't make any money music, but I reckon it's about Ј1.3 million and I think all of us would like to try running iTunes with Ј1.3 million".
– He said he doesn't see the price of download music dropping because customers are willing to pay for music, even if they also download some other music illegally. TV, he added, will be the opposite because consumers are not used to paying for that. Endemol's head of mobile and broadband Michel de Gooijier completely disagreed: "You're saying that because of the numbers you're seeing for downloads. The numbers you're not seeing are much bigger because usage is far higher than turnover."

(c) MocoNews

Для информации:
3 is the largest 3G network in the UK and Europe.
The 3 network is available across eight countries and has over 10 million customers. In the UK alone, 3 acquired 3.2million 3G customers after 32 months of operations – that’s more than the other UK mobile operators combined.
1,3 млн закачек в неделю с 10 млн. абонентов (3,2 млн 3G) - очень неплохо!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Teens Rate Music, Games and Video Functionality Less Important on Cell Phones

Online wireless retailer LetsTalk has published the results of a survey of US teenagers on their use of cell phones. The respondents, aged 10-18, overwhelmingly chose text messaging as their most important feature beyond voice calls, with very few teens identifying functionality such as video, email, instant messaging (IM) or a music player as the most important feature on a cell phone.

The survey asked a representative sampling of teens in the United States between ages 10 and 18, what is your cell phone's most important feature, and found:

* 66% of females aged 16-18 consider texting the most important feature; compared to just 49% of males in same age group
* 35% of males aged 10-12 consider games the most important feature; nearly three times the average teen
* Despite efforts by carriers, mobile video is not considered the most important feature for any teen segment
* Camera phones are the 2nd most popular feature behind text messaging. On average, 27% of teen females thought camera phones were the most important feature; 25% of males.

The aggregate responses for teens in terms of their most important cell phone feature:

* Texting -- 49%
* Camera -- 25%
* Games -- 12%
* Music player -- 5%
* IM -- 5%
* E-mail -- 2%
* Video -- 2%

"Are cell phones changing and doing more than ever before? Absolutely. Do teens look at their phones today and see much more than a cell phone or texting device? No." said Delly Tamer, founder and CEO of LetsTalk.com. "Past research from LetsTalk.com has shown that many consumers don't rely on their cell phones for everything, and teens today seem to be telling us the same thing."

The texting survey, commissioned by LetsTalk and conducted by noted research firm Teenage Research Unlimited, was conducted in August 2006. The poll interviewed a representative sampling of over 1,200 young adults in the United States between the ages of 10 and 18.

Мои комментарии:
1. 2% для видео как "most important" - на данном этапе вполне неплохо (с учетом того, что эти 2% - от всей абонентской базы, см. также п.3.).
2. Не представлено рейтинговое голосование - интересно на каком месте в этом случае оказалось бы видео?
3. Как сравнивать несравнимые вещи - SMS (texting) доступно 100% аудитории, а видео - только 10-15% аудитории. Надо перевзвешивать выборку по параметру доступности технологии. В результате может оказаться, что из числа респондентов, имеющих возможность просмотра видео на своем телефоне, 20% назовет его "most important".

Частично об этом сказано и в самой статье.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Breakthrough Takes Betty, Miss BG, Flamingo Multi-Platform

Canadian production company Breakthrough Animation Inc. is headed to MIPCOM 2006 with multi-platform vignettes for its popular series, Atomic Betty, Miss BG and Captain Flamingo. Rather than re-purposing existing animation from the show, Breakthrough will generate new content for the Internet, mobile phones and other hand-held devices.

The vignettes developed for Atomic Betty will be a combination of space-based science facts, blooper reels, animated interviews and music videos, while the Miss BG bits will highlight the title character’s unconventional perspective on the world, her family and friends. Fans of Captain Flamingo will be able to learn what it takes to be a caped crusader as their hero disseminates 101 ways to attain superhero savvy.

“As audiences move toward accessing their content beyond the traditional television broadcast platform we want to provide unique programming for these new mediums,” says Breakthrough exec producer and managing partner Kevin Gillis. “Produced for the mobile screen, we have designed our multi-platform programming to provide distinctive content for these mediums because we believe global audiences will be looking for an original viewing experience that differentiates it from re-purposed fare.”

A co-production of Atomic Cartoons, Breakthrough Animation and TeleImages Kids, Atomic Betty consists of 78 half-hour episodes and an hour-long Christmas Special. The series has already been licensed worldwide to major broadcasters in more than 120 territories.

Miss BG is adapted from the acclaimed Gudule & les Bébés book series published in France by Hachette-Jeunesse and authored by Fanny Joly and illustrated by Roser Capdevilla. The 52x30 series is a co-production between Ellipsanime, Breakthrough Animation, TVO, TFO (Canada) and France 5. Aimed at kids 5-8, the 3-D animated show revolves around a precocious eight year-old girl who sees it as her mission to teach her young brother George the ways of the world.

A co-production between Breakthrough Animation, Heroic Film Company, Atomic Cartoons and PASI Animation, Captain Flamingo (52x30) is an original production for YTV Canada. The series follows the adventures of Milo Powell who, tired of being overlooked by big kids, dons his terrycloth cape and saves the day for kids everywhere.

(c) Animation Magazine

P&G to Advertise on Amp'd Mobile's Wireless Network

Move Could Prove to Be Big Boost to Nascent Ad Medium

Mobile video this week took a big step closer to its potential as a key advertising vehicle with the announcement that the U.S.' biggest ad spender, Procter & Gamble Co., signed up to advertise its Herbal Essences shampoo on Amp'd Mobile.

P&G's wireless ad play could be a boon for the nascent mobile-marketing industry, whose executives feel it has the potential to offer marketers addressable ads.


Commercial breaks
Starting next month, P&G will run 15- and 30-second spots before and after programming on Amp'd Mobile video channels, such as Break TV, the History Channel, A&E, Biography and the Amp'd College Football Season Pass. Some Amp'd programming will be reformatted to allow for commercial breaks similar to those of TV programs, said Seth Cummings, Amp'd's senior VP-content development and programming.

Amp'd, a mobile company whose calls are placed through Verizon Wireless, has 50,000 subscribers but is expanding its distribution through Best Buy and other big-box retailers.

P&G's wireless ad play could be a boon for the nascent mobile marketing industry, whose executives feel it has the potential to offer marketers addressable ads. In compliance with federal requirements, and without disclosing personal information about their subscribers, wireless service providers believe they can place ads on the mobile devices to target customers who opt to receive the ads.

Discounts to opt-in
Amp'd Mobile, which targets its service to 18- to 35-year-olds, is looking to offer discounts as early as next year to subscribers who opt to provide gender, age and home location, Mr. Cummings said. He said the popular Amp'd Overdrive package, at $20 per month, could be offered at a yet-to-be-determined discount to subscribers who opt to view advertising. In exchange, subscribers would sign up to receive mobile-video ads and also would grant permission for marketers to use that information to reach them.

"Addressability is the holy grail in brand advertising," said Ujjal Kohli, CEO, Rhythm NewMedia, a company whose platform is serving the P&G campaign. "TV-style advertising running over TV-style content" is not only available but capable of "sending an appropriate ad an appropriate number of times to the right people." Marketers also will be able to know how much of the video was viewed. "There's no room for click fraud here," he added.

P&G has been dipping its toe into mobile marketing, offering Herbal Essences ringtones in the past, and earlier this year launched a mobile-text-messaging program for Crest Whitening Plus Scope Extreme Toothpaste targeted to young club-goers. Its Interactive Marketing Innovation Consumer Solutions Program group, headed by Jean Berberich, is expected to roll out a number of other mobile-marketing programs this year for products such as Pampers.

Executives at P&G did not return calls seeking comment.

Mobile's CPM rates
And in a sign of the kind of money mobile media could command, the deal, according to three executives familiar with the situation, was running at cost-per-thousand rates of $150 or more, considerably higher than web CPMs and the average $30 CPM for traditional broadcast prime time. Revenue is being shared among the carrier, the content publishers and intermediary companies handling the deals. Mr. Kohli said mobile TV's CPM might decline over time, but right now the "demand far outstrips the supply."

The jury is still out, however, as to whether there will be demand, particularly in relation to sensitive consumer concerns. Jonathan Sackett, senior VP-director of digital operations, Draft, said of mobile addressability: "As a marketer I love it," but as a "consumer I don't much care for it."

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@CTIA: Interview With Frank Barbieri, President Of Viva Vision, On Hispanic Mobile Video

(c) MocoNews by James Pearce

I met up with Frank Barbieri, president of Viva Vision, to discuss Viva Vision's plans for expansion into the North American market, as well as into Latin America. The company was recently bought by new investors, who saw the benefit of the company's technology and rebranded it from Inetcam to Viva Vision and hired Frank to run it and install new management.

Frank said that Viva Vision had a leadership position in the region but fluffed the advantage, although he's now ready to compete with new entrants like MobiTV and Inmobia. He's gone on a hiring spree to help with that, saying that he'd lured Nick Montes from AG to be VP and General Manager Latin America, Justin Stockton from Virgin Mobile, and Fred Clarke from Infospace.

On the content side Viva Vision aims to offer a mixture of commercial content and user generated content, but what he called "user gen plus" which is more like independent producers, being people who are putting in a serious effort. Whereas typical user generated content such as you find on YouTube may have a lot of IP issues, Frank reckons that by dealing with independent producers that live in a community or scene and is passionate about it you get better content that is "rights cleared", and therefore easier to generate revenue with.

Viva Vision is currently on 15 carriers in the region (all the Movistar carriers and Alltel) and the plan is to spend the next six months trying to expand in the US market, although Viva Vision also wants to capture the southern cone of Latin America and push into Brazil -- which has some marked differences from the rest of the region.

"The markets that we're in are very very hungry for it," said Barbieri. "In markets like Puerto Rico and Venezuela, we are seeing way above average conversion rates. The typical mobile TV conversion rate that's batted around is 1%, we're seeing more than double that in some markets. So I think there is a lot of pent up demand. And I think it has to do with the fact that PC penetration is lower. So you have a population whose primary connection device is the mobile phone."

There is a high percentage of low-end handsets on low-end networks in the region, which Viva Vision addresses with a proprietary codec, which helps them "reach a broader audience than the carriers thought was possible with video". The higher-end handsets are served with MPEG4.
"A lot of our customers are post paid, which means we have to managed churn more tightly," said Frank. "We need to offer a quality product."

Viva Vision has some commercial content and some user generated, although a lot of the user generated stuff is more along the lines of independent movie producers. Still, it plans to launch a new channel next month called Torq TV, which will offer the sort of home video content that was made popular by "Funniest Home Video" shows.

There are also plans for advertising, although Frank steers more towards "brand engagement" than interstitial video advertising. "When you think of entertainment as an interactive experience, brands want to be associated with that...Brands want to be associated with kids discovering the next big thing. And in Latin America this is the device they're going to do it with." He pointed out that with Java and Brew you could create a direct response channel for the promotions. He called this "participatory video".

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