FLO TV moves beyond carriers to build awareness

LOS ANGELES–FLO TV President Bill Stone is moving beyond carrier agreements with Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility to try to drive awareness to the mobile TV space and increase consumer adoption of the nascent TV service. Stone, who took over the reins of FLO TV in January, is pushing for new pricing strategies, new customers and new devices to drive customer growth.
In an interview with RCR Wireless News in late August, Stone touched on a number of strategies the Qualcomm-owned operator is pursuing to further drive adoption. Stone likens FLO TV’s evolvement to that of soda pop. Coke comes in 12-ounce cans, 2-liter bottles, soda fountain syrup and the like, but it’s the same product regardless of the package. Stone can envision daily, weekly, monthly and annual passes to FLO TV, as well as packages that center on sports or family-based TV.
Exactly how the service evolves has yet to be seen. In an interview with GigaOM at Mobilize ‘09, Qualcomm COO Len Lauer said the mobile broadcasts service could be a way for operators to offload their video content, thus freeing up capacity on their own networks.
“FLO TV is all about scale for us. One easy way to scale has been with Verizon and AT&T,” Stone said. The company finally got access to spectrum to offer service in another 39 markets in June, after the transition to Digital TV was completed, which should help customer awareness.
But FLO TV is also working to sell the service as part of an automobile package, using rear-seat entertainment screens equipped with a credit-card-sized device made by Audiovox. Much like the way Sirius satellite radio and LoJack car security systems are sold today, Stone envisions FLO TV sold at the auto dealership. “Right now our No. 1 issue is customer awareness.” Offering FLO TV as a standalone service will help increase awareness for Verizon and AT&T, too, he said, noting mobile TV is just one of many applications operators sell to customers. “We’re an ingredient that’s part of their data plans.”
The company has been ramping up efforts designed around these new selling plans. It recently teamed with Rentrak Corp., a multi-screen media measurement and research company serving the entertainment industry, to launch the industry’s first viewership and advertising impression reporting using Rentrak’s TV Essentials media measurement system. FLO also recently hired Alice Kim as its senior vice president of strategy and corporate development. Kim most recently was with MTV Networks and has been involved with FLO TV since its inception as part of MTV’s relationship with the mobile TV company.
The network investment has already been made, Stone noted. About 50 more transmitters will be operating by the end of the year, improving the depth of the coverage in existing markets along with offering service in the new markets and more devices are expected on the market in time for the holiday season. “Ultimately, if we’re good, we’ll have competition. I am not looking to be king of the minors right now.”