Disqus
Commentary:
Reading an interview with Arvind Rao (who is the CEO of OnMobile) on Telecom Tiger, he states that he is not very bullish about Mobile TV in the short-term, because of the investment required, the small screens involved, and also the number of handsets that support it.
This actually is one of the few less positive stories I have seen about Mobile TV on the interweb recently – most have been (very) optimistic about the kinds of numbers (volumes, revenues, usage) that M-TV is going to generate. To be fair, the comments are only in respect of India, but they are the same detracting comments that are given by some commentators for other markets/regions.
The bottom line with M-TV is that it has the potential to be huge, and if does blow up, then there are a host of associated VAS revenues to be had also – those in turn will stimulate the ecosystem in to creating even more innovative and interactive services for users.
The “viewing” public is changing – Scheduled, lean-back TV is slowly becoming less relevant, as disruptive technologies (both in the home and outside of it) are growing – time-shifting, place-shifting, and personalisation are all playing roles in re-defining the viewing experience – this is already confirmed – the question is, does (Broadcast) Mobile TV, as it is composed right now, have a valid place to fit in the new model of rich media consumption?
Thoughts please…..
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
-
Varun
-
Kay
