MoCoNews coverage of Mobile Content World

» @Mobile Content World: The Youth Focus Panel Brings It Down To Earth
Related Topics: MCW -- Permalink - Comments (1) [by jemima]

I always enjoy the youth panels - there should be plenty more of these. This panel of six was particularly diverse, including a student of latin and ancient Greek who had a seven-year-old Nokia. Their answers seemed typical enough, but wouldn't have been that encouraging to the audience. Only one our of six on the panel, Johnny, said he watched TV on his mobile (football highlights in this case) and he'd be interested in getting more. "I wouldn't want to watch a 90-minute game, just two-minute highlights. It's not incredible quality but it's alright. It's what I expect."

– The group spent between GBP20-GBP50 each month on their phones, spend between 30 minutes and 2 hours a day listening to the radio or music and all but two had pay-as-you-go and two of them had two phones. The primary interest was voice and text for all of them with cameras very popular too, but no-one was too keen on MMS and email. The only time one of them would MMS a picture was if they weren't able to Bluetooth it. And nearly all of them said they hardly watched any TV.

– No-one was very interested in downloading games. They described them as a bit gimmicky and unsophisticated. Downloading music to your phone is too expensive, they said. "Ringtones are a rip off," said Austin. "Just infra-red or Bluetooth stuff - there's no need to pay for it anymore. Create your own on your computer."

– And something that wasn't mentioned by anyone else at the event but is a massive issue: Johnny said he wouldn't want to use his phone as a music player because he's worried about ear cancer. No-one had an answer to that.

» @Mobile Content World: Priorities For TV Content
Related Topics: MCW -- Permalink - Comments (0) [by jemima]

"The mobile industry hasn't been creative enough about promoting the its content," according to Linda Summers, head of strategy at Red Bee. She said it should come down to basic marketing because it's the issue of discoverability that is huge. She said effective mobile programming will be a mix of traditional schedules and on-demand content, as well as live coverage of sports and news events. The linear TV platform still has a huge part to play in creating content for the web and mobile environment, she said. "We need to think about exploiting those established brands." She said producers need to work out how to you help people find what they want, and also how to promote content in a way that encourages users to move people through various platforms. Social nets could be vital to that distribution, she said.

– Tom Toumazis, EVP & MD for Buena Vista International Television EMEA, said that current shows like Lost translate well to mobile because there is a big range of characters and complex plots that can be exploited and expanded. He also said more work has to be done on prices and bundles, working out the value of an exclusive TV show preview on mobile, for example.

– Endemol's head of mobile TV and video at Endemol Michiel de Gooijer said mobisodes had been well received because they are exclusive, but linked to a well-known brand. The "real exciting stuff" is creating original new pure mobile projects - he referred to Endemol's ‘Get Close to Sugababes'. These daily four-minute mobisodes mixed TV footage with mobile footage filmed by the band. "The quality of footage might be inferior to TV but the personality of the footage on that format works," said de Gooijer. It's also good publicity. "There is a market for totally new brands, but you just have to see how you can link those with existing brands."

» @Mobile Content World: Mobile TV Is A Dead Duck - It's All About Video
Related Topics: MCW -- Permalink - Comments (0) [by jemima]

Another reoccurring theme: the focus is on made-for-mobile, on-demand content rather than live streaming. Jeremy Flynn, CEO of D2See, described mobile TV as a "dead duck" and said it's important to differentiate between that and mobile video.

– Stephen Smyth, Reuters VP of mobile and emerging media: "We're fooling ourselves if we think that video will become the primary reason that people use a device." He said the mobile phone is primarily about communication, so the most successful content will enable more communication through, for example, user generated content.

» @Mobile Content World: Finding The Money For Mobile TV
Related Topics: MCW -- Permalink - Comments (0) [by jemima]

@Mobile Content World: Finding The Money For Mobile TV

Clare Tavernier, SVP Interactive for Fremantle Media, said the critical issue for mobile TV is funding. Unlike the music industry, where record companies are used to funding artists until they make the money back through album sales, TV producers don't take that kind of risk. They put the ideas to broadcasters who then give them the money for the production. "Some broadcasters and mobile operators are laying down some money but this has been going on for two years. Nobody knows where to find the money."

– Phil Lawrie, VP of Turner Broadcasting:"If, as a broadcaster, you're serious about new media and mobile, you have to take risks. You have to have part of your business dedicated to trying things out and doing something new - and not reliant on hitting targets.

– Selma Turajlic, head of interactive media at Celador, overheard a conversation at the airport in which someone complained that they already pay their UK TV licence, they pay for Sky, for broadband and their mobile bill - so why would they pay extra for mobile TV? It seems that advertising is the only way forward: "We don't know what consumers tolerance to ads is, and we really need to understand that." She said there will be willingness to accept ads once people realise it will mean a cheaper or free TV service. Tavernier said advertising is already viable and that we'll start to see more creative forms of sponsorship and product placement.

– Mobile is like other TV business models in that there is a mix of advertising and fees, but where that balance settles is still in flux, said Lawrie. He estimates it will be another 12-18 months before there's enough of a critical mass of viewers to make advertising viable.

» @MCW: Mobile Industry Not Ready For Mobile TV
Related Topics: Mobile Video, MCW -- Permalink - Comments (0) [by james]

There's some interesting comments from Freemantle Media's senior vp of interactive, Claire Tavernier, about mobile TV.

"One of the apparent problems is that both sides of the industry, the mobile operators and the programme makers, are unused to gambling on content production, according to Tavernier Although she said that is beginning to change, there is little background of either parties taking that funding risk. Usually that has been the role of the broadcasters."

Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum, agreed with this assessment, saying that if companies wanted to get serious about operating in new media then they not only need to generate content in a multi-platform way rather than in silos, but they "need to let those responsible for new media take creative risks, and not judge them in a numbers driven way".
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