“The Spot” hopes to celebrate its first birthday by going even more high-tech.
A weekly Web-based program that combines elements of both a soap opera and a reality show, “The Spot” complements its program daily with brief slide-show broadcasts to wireless handsets that allow viewers to interact with the actors. This week, as the show enters its second year, developers are working to upgrade the mobile offering, delivering one- to two-minute high-quality video clips to engage fans who carry newer handsets.
“(The wireless broadcasts) have been slide shows because there are more handsets that can handle the slide show” as opposed to video, according to Stewart St. John, chief executive officer of StewdioMedia Entertainment, which produces the show. “But now we’re moving to video phones-we’re ready for that market as well.”
After launching 10 years ago exclusively on the Internet, “The Spot” went dark as the dot-com bubble burst. It resurfaced last year, using wireless broadcasts to draw fans into the lives of seven roommates in a Santa Monica, Calif., beach house. Internet broadcasts are free, and the mobile service is available to Sprint PCS Vision subscribers for $4 a month.
The daily clips generally feature a character from the show talking directly to viewers about the program, and fans can respond to the show via their phones or the show’s Web site, offering advice to the characters or to the writers. The mobile program has shown a growth rate of 15 percent per month, St. John said, and roughly half of the 450,000 Internet viewers also subscribe to the wireless broadcasts.
“What drives the cell-phone use is the fact that we’ve created a community” enveloping both the actors and the audience, said Todd Fisher, vice president of StewdioMedia. “The characters actually respond back to the fans, who in turn go back to the Web site and the message board … It’s kind of like this big wheel that drives itself in this community.”
St. John, who’s developed content for TV shows like the Power Rangers, Sabrina and the animated Incredible Hulk series, is looking to create new programming specifically for wireless users. The company is developing interactive videos aimed at the wireless teen and “tween” markets, creating several series made up of two-minute clips.
“Right now, I think one- or two-minute clips work best for the mobile,” St. John said, adding that, “I think people want snippets. … We definitely think people will see a mobisode a day and even more.”
Of course, StewdioMedia isn’t the only company working to deliver TV programming to wireless handsets. Other notable developments announced in the mobile TV space last week include:
c T-Systems in Germany will use phones from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to offer mobile TV services based on Korea’s DMB standard, according to reports. The move is notable since most industry watchers expected the European community to deploy mobile TV services using the DVB-H standard.
T-Systems plans to launch a test run using DMB technology later this year and could launch commercial services in 2006 in time for the World Cup, according to reports. T-Systems was not immediately available for comment.
Separately, Samsung unveiled its third DBM phone, the SCH-B200. The company has previously released the SCH-B100 and SCH-B130 DMB phones. Both LG and Samsung are pushing the DMB standard for mobile TV, while rival handset company Nokia Corp. is pushing the DVB-H standard.
c Wireless technology provider Ericsson is showcasing a mobile TV application that allows users to interact with broadcasts via short message service or multimedia messaging service with a single touch.
The offering, which Ericsson developed with partners conVisual and CTcommunology, uses existing technology and is designed to be quickly deployed, the company said. The application can also be used for mobile shopping or to interact with home entertainment systems.
“Apart from simultaneously watching and interacting with TV on a mobile device, the new solution also allows the device to be used as an interactive remote control when sitting in front of TV at home,” said Kurt Sillen, vice president and head of Ericsson Mobility World.
c TComm (UK) Ltd. launched a mobile TV service in the United Kingdom. TELLYfone is a cross-platform mobile TV service with digital rights management that can deliver live, streamed and downloaded audio/video content to mobile phones.
The TELLYfone network includes individual subscription channels and will have a library of content including comedy, soaps, sitcoms, films, music, animations, horror, horoscopes, cooking and a games show. Subscribers have a choice of six premium channels, with another eight channels planned for launch during the next 60 days.
The TELLYfone service is available for use on most U.K. mobile phones and works over GSM, GPRS and third-generation mobile networks with Symbian, Java or 3G-enabled mobile phones. Further services will include the ability to deliver ringtones, wallpapers and logos with the content.
To access the service, users text TELLY to 81223. Access to the TELLYfone service is free during April, after which access will be on a paid subscription basis.
TComm (UK) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Florida-based JAG Media Holdings Inc.
c Moonlight Mobile launched a new line of streaming and downloadable videos called One Minute Guides last week at MIPTV in Cannes, France.
The videos, published under the TV2Mobile brand name, are 60-second movies created specifically for mobile phones. The movies can be streamed over 3G networks or downloaded directly to 2.5G phones, said the company.
Subjects will include fashion topics, horoscopes, outrageous sports and stunts, wild animals, sex and driving tips.
