Is Mobile TV going to make it?
By Ben Robinson on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 4:32 PM PST In Ideas and rants, Mobile TV
Well it’s a question I’ve asked a number of times before, citing pieces of evidence both for and against. However, I’ve come across two articles within the same week that are both asking the question about whether Mobile TV is going to continue as a viable service…
The first article on Broadband TV News states “Mobile TV – looking for the right business model” – and as the title suggests, the business model is a major issue. It was somewhat of a surprise to some within the Industry that actually people wouldn’t fancy paying £5-£10/month (on top of their existing mobile bill) to access TV on the move. Since then, the white knight has been Advertising – yep, if we can offer Ads on the channels, then we can offer channels for a reduced cost, or even free. Well newsflash: Mobile Advertising has yet to be proven also (certainly in the rich media sense, an example of which is Mobile TV!)
The second article on Read Write Web asks “Does Mobile TV have a future?” – and covers quite a few bases regarding the issues being faced, and what needs to be done. It does however end with one neat statement, that says dongles for Laptops might actually be a nice idea – and I couldn’t agree more. People get that idea of having to plug a USB dongle for their Laptops to access mobile broadband for example, so Mobile TV rendering on a Laptop via a USB dongle? Oh yes. Otherwise you are looking at a very specific device with certain chips embedded in – and those devices (generally) don’t sell in volume…
So the state of Mobile TV today, especially in the current financial turmoil doesn’t look too hot – with it’s high cost barrier-to-entry, and somewhat of a chicken-and-egg situation with Operators/networks and devices, thing have definitely been more rosy. Let’s see what the next six months brings…
Ben,
There are two factors critical to driving consumer mobile TV adoption: content and cost.
Ben, the key behind successfully addressing these factors is the ability to tap into the existing terrestrial broadcast ecosystem. Premium and subscription mobile TV services will eventually be successfully introduced at the right time when consumers, infrastructure and content are all ready. In the meantime, free mobile TV services offer a compelling approach to building a global mobile TV audience.
Adoption slows down when the consumer is presented with a subscription fee for a line-up of programs that they’ve never viewed
In contrast, free mobile TV provides consumers with the ability to become accustomed to watching shows on their mobile TV phone. Down the road, once mobile TV is no longer a novelty, consumers will be more willing to accept a paid-for service. This tiered-service model directly copies the business model for traditional television which has been a global success, namely that consumers receive local channels for free and are able to subscribe to premium and speciality channels through cable or satellite pay TV services.
Ben, the primary ingredient for driving consumer adoption of mobile TV is to provide the right content. Consumers want to be able to view on their mobile tv phone the same content that they view and enjoy on their television sets at home. Of particular interest are programs such as local news and sporting events, as well as the ability to access favorite shows on a portable screen while on the road and interestingly, while at home.
The technology advancements that have been made to enable delivery of free mobile TV are game-changing.
These advancements allow for: high sensitivity reception to enable consumers to have a positive viewing experience; low power consumption to enable consumers to view continuous mobile TV for hours at a time; mobility to allow for stable picture when walking around or riding in a car, bus or high-speed train, at speeds up to 430kph; and small footprint implementation to enable TV delivery in a mobile tv device of any shape and size.
Until now Ben, operators interested in deploying mobile TV have faced high infrastructure costs for deployment of towers and repeaters, high spectrum costs for securing broadcast frequency, and high content costs for development, retooling, or licensing of content.
Free mobile TV is the first technology that allows operators to make forays into TV delivery on a mobile TV phone, without making these significant investments. This can allow operators to learn more about consumer behavior in their specific market, assess marketing strategies, explore business models and enhance their handset portfolio, all without significant overhead.
2009 is ushering in significant transformational events in the mobile TV vertical – mobile tv phones will be everywhere in the near future.
Stay Tuned.
-Anthony