UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.-Who is watching mobile TV and video? Whoever holds the answer will find a lot of interest among mobile TV providers, broadcasters, TV networks, film studios and advertisers.
Data on TV viewership has been a staple in the entertainment industry for decades, but it’s only just begun to find resonance in the wireless industry.
Some research and analyst firms have been conducting trials and aggregating data on usage among limited pools of consumers, but it’s just scratching the surface of what key executives and decision-makers are looking for. Things move rapidly in these industries, however, and the immense interest in this infant medium isn’t being lost on all. Just last week Rentrak, a company that measures TV viewing, announced it will measure mobile TV viewing for mobile television provider HiWire L.L.C. during its trial this summer in Las Vegas.
Most hope it’s a sign of the analytics and user behavior data to come.
“The projections are kind of all over the map” on mobile TV adoption, Dan Novak, SVP of programming and advertising at MediaFLO USA Inc., said in his keynote address at the Mobile Entertainment Summit.
“I think in general you can never have too much data, and you have to be able to aggregate that data across the board,” Chandra Hill, executive director of the mobile business operations at Fox Interactive Media, said on another panel at the summit.
“I think you need to compile all of that data . and then leverage that into mobile,” she said.
“We’ve spent the last four years doing a lot of consumer research . to find out what really was important to them,” Novak noted. “People think this is a snacking medium-it is not. People are watching full shows. People want short opportunities, but they also want long form. They want the TV experience like they have at home.”
The typical profile of a MediaFLO subscriber is someone who watches over 30 hours of TV at home per week, has three or more TVs per household and spends an average of $72 per month on cable TV; this compared to a national average of 2.3 televisions per household and a monthly cable TV bill of $35.
“The biggest single indicator is not age, it’s not sex, it’s love for TV,” Novak said. “We think this is equally desirable . among men and women.”
MediaFLO is finding that its service is becoming “embedded in people’s lives,” he said. “We have people who are rearranging their lunch hour to watch a show they’re interested in.”
This is why MediaFLO, and other mobile TV providers like Modeo L.L.C. and HiWire, are pursuing the primetime shows and programming that Americans enjoy most. “We didn’t want the table scraps, we wanted primetime,” Novak said.
Brand is king
While the general format might differ between at-home television and mobile TV, Hollywood’s entertainment companies’ foremost priorities remain unchanged. Building brands-and a paying fan base-remain paramount, but many acknowledge that a few more building blocks need to be reinforced before those opportunities truly present themselves on the mobile platform.
The strategies and framework for success are falling into place, according to some panelists at the summit, but entertainment powerhouses are running into some unique dilemmas as they pursue new endeavors in mobile.
“Typically when we think of a show, we don’t think of it in one particular place . We think of it going everywhere,” said Michael Kernan, VP at talent agency ICM.
“For us, we focus on building brands. It doesn’t really matter where the consumer views it,” added Jon Vlassopulous, VP at Endemol, which develops TV shows.
ROI demands advertising
But, these content producers are accustomed to receiving an 85% return on their investment, whereas wireless carriers have demanded upwards of 50% of revenues, said Michael Stroud, CEO and co-founder of iHollywood Forum Inc.
Hence, the tremendous interest in mobile advertising as of late. Many view it as a logical component that will help content vendors regain some of the revenues lost to wireless walled gardens.
“I think eventually paying for mobile content will go away, just like it is on the Internet. I think it will be advertising supported,” Kernan said. “There’s money to be made in mobile because if you get an advertiser to give you enough money, it makes sense.”
“Brands are open to putting money into mobile,” Kernan added, but Doug Craig, VP at Discovery Communications Inc., made the point that advertisers aren’t going to spend money on mobile until they know what they can expect in return.
Standards need to be standard
Each panelist said an industrywide standard is needed for everything from usage data to placing content on carriers’ decks. “It’s great that carrier A has its act together, but what I really need is carrier A through Z to have their acts together,” Craig said.
Devices will also be a key step toward further adoption. “I think you’re going to start seeing the money being made when handsets have a standardized format,” said Brad Beutlich of Safenet.
Novak highlighted forthcoming services that MediaFLO believes will drive further adoption. The company is launching a multicast video-clip distribution service for on-demand like programming (except it will be automatically broadcast to the device and not require the user to set it to record), and a datacast application that will provider users with real-time information on traffic, weather, sports scores, stock quotes and more.
