Margins Check: TouTube ads, calling from a PlayStation, high-def Flash and more

Editor’s Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.
–Google’s YouTube has begun showing ads at the bottom of its videos. The transparent ads display on the bottom 20% of the video, and disappear if not clicked on within 10 seconds. The implications for mobile are diverse and wide-ranging, and surely the wireless industry will be keen to discover whether YouTube’s advertising gambit is successful.
–Britain’s BT Group announced it was teaming with Sony for software that will allow PlayStation gamers to make video and voice calls and send instant messages using the video-game console. The announcement portends a ubiquitous messaging environment in which cellphones likely will play a part.
–Adobe is testing a new version of its Flash player for desktop computers that will be able to display high-definition video. However, to make full use of the offering, video producers will have to deliver their wares in the proper software format. If the service catches fire, the wireless industry may have to become involved in the high-definition video arena so as not to be left behind.
–In its bid to battle Apple’s iTunes, Wal-Mart announced it will sell music without including digital rights management software. Wal-Mart said it would sell DRM-free tunes from Vivendi and EMI for 94 cents each. The move by the world’s largest retailer could push the digital music industry closer to a DRM-free stance. For wireless, the news puts further pressure on those companies attempting to put a premium on digital music delivered straight to cellphones.
–According to new numbers from Nielsen, more TV watchers are older, which means they will have more time to watch TV. Specifically, one of the fastest-growing categories of TV watchers was persons between the ages of 55 and 64, a group that grew 3.9% during the past year. The research could indicate a growing market for mobile TV, although older Americans typically shy away from new technologies like mobile TV.