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…..