Future of mobile TV based on consumer awareness

By Giselle Abramovich

September 11, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO – There isn’t a shortage in terms of the creation and distribution of compelling mobile television content. The challenge lies in user awareness.

This was the key point made by panelists at CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment’s “Launching mobile TV: Creating compelling user experiences while maximizing profit” session. Panelists agreed that another challenge in the mobile TV space is how much consumers are willing to pay for this type of content.

“Two years ago we launched mobile short-form video and that worked pretty well,” said Greg Clayman, executive vice president of digital distribution and business development at MTV Networks. “Then came linear video and the response to that was great too.

“Next came, off-deck ad-supported video,” he said. “Different people want different kind of video. Linear video is to catch up and short-form is for down time.

Tim Connolly, vice president of mobile distribution of Disney/ESPN and ABC said that full episodes of television content works really well. Live sporting events are doing really well too because people are not always able to stay home and watch TV.

Mobile TV and video is still in its infancy.

“The great part about being in an industry that is still in its infancy is there’s nothing you can do without learning something,” said Jonathan Barzilay, senior vice president of programming and advertising at MedioFlo USA.”

What’s important is having strong brands and a lot of promotion around the content.

“The phenomenal improvement in devices is something that definitely is driving our sector forward,” said Kevin Grant, vice president of sales at MobiTV. “But there is a lot of room for evolution.”

In order to determine what consumers want from their mobile TV experience research and sharing viewership stats is important.

“There is a tremendous interest in mobile TV, but its about listening to the audience and getting them what they want,” said Andrew Stalbow senior vice president of Fox Mobile Entertainment. “There is a lot of room to learn.”

A study conducted by market researcher Nielsen Mobile found that 71 percent of mobile TV subscribers are happy with the experience.

“To me, that said, the issue is awareness and getting the public aware of the fact that these services are available to them,” Mr. Connolly said. “Use the mobile Web to get consumers to leverage and use mobile video.”

Additionally, media companies can integrate mobile into their marketing messages.

For example, a TV commercial for Grey’s Anatomy can mention that the full version of the show is also available on mobile.

“This is key, after all we are teaching consumers new behavior,” Mr. Connolly said.

In terms of business models, subscription plans have been working best in the United States.

Pay-per-use has not done as well.

“Bundles definitely work better for consumers,” Mr. Barzilay said. “It’s what they grew up with in terms of their access to entertainment.”

The panelists believe that the ad-supported model is the future of mobile TV and video.

“Price packages with VOD services will drive usage,” Mr. Grant said. “Live has done great things for us.”

Mr. Grant predicts that Mobile TV widgets will take advantage of LBS in the future.

Mr. Clay said that he sees phones with projectors as an app of the future.

“Imagine taking the videos on your phone and projecting them onto a wall,” Mr. Clay said.