Crown Castle International Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. are placing huge bets on mobile TV, spending a combined $1.3 billion to build networks dedicated almost entirely to one-way wireless video. Traditional TV networks and film studios are hastily establishing divisions to produce content for “the third screen,” and carriers around the world are inking deals to push all kinds of video content to subscribers. Competing platforms are in various stages of tests in nearly a dozen countries.
And while it’s still in its infancy, there’s little doubt that mobile TV looks fairly promising. MobiTV Inc., which offers about 50 channels for Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Sprint Nextel Corp. and others, recently hit the half-million-subscriber mark, and research firm eMarketer predicts that 15 million U.S. wireless users will subscribe to wireless video service in 2009, up from just 1.2 million in 2005.
Other markets are showing potential as well. BT Movio, which last week wrapped up a mobile video broadcast pilot in the United Kingdom, claims that two-thirds of wireless users are prepared to pay more than $14 a month for video service.
But the key for wireless operators, content providers and everyone else in the value chain is determining exactly what consumers want to see on a wireless phone. When it comes to types of content, MobiTV is enjoying more hits than misses, according to Chief Marketing Officer Dave Whetstone.
“With the evolution of every medium, it takes a while to find out what clicks with consumers. The role we play is to work very closely with the content providers to find out what works with consumers and what doesn’t,” said Whetstone. “We do have some content that’s more popular than other (content), but if you look at a graph of our usage … it’s pretty evenly distributed across the channels.”
That’s not to say that every type of video distributed on wireless networks is finding an audience, however. Initial efforts to put traditional TV content onto mobile phones often failed to consider a phone’s shortcomings, leaving viewers squinting to determine details like facial expressions or gestures.
Even repurposed material, edited for phones to maximize screen sizes and increase brightness, often fails due to programming lengths. Licensing issues can make it difficult and costly to bring well-known TV shows to handsets, and traditional programming lengths generally aren’t suited for wireless users.
“Sitcoms are really more difficult to set up for a phone; using 22 minutes to set up eight jokes,” said Thomas Ellsworth, chief strategy officer for GoTV Networks, which provides on-demand video for Sprint Nextel and Boost Mobile L.L.C. “But we have seen a consumer appeal for comedy. We’ve taken Jimmie Kimmel’s monologue (from the comedian’s ABC late-night show) and put it into our alternative rock catalog … and people went for it, started watching it.”
Even made-for-mobile video sometimes loses something in translation from TV set to handset. Fox Mobile quietly scratched a wireless version of its hit series “24” in the United Kingdom when the “mobisodes”-which didn’t feature star Keifer Sutherland-failed to catch on, presumably due to a lack of star power.
Walt Disney Co. is wading into wireless video, too. The company inked a deal with Verizon Wireless late last year to create made-for-mobile episodes of ABC’s hit drama “Lost.” The company will produce 22 two-minute installments, creating plotlines around some of the show’s less familiar characters.
But while most content providers are moving toward video “snacking,” tempting users standing in line at the bank or waiting at the bus stop, Mspot is heading the opposite direction. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based mobile entertainment provider is teaming with Sprint Nextel to deliver full-length feature films broken into “chapters” of about five minutes each. The service launched last month, offering nine genres of streaming movies like “Short Circuit” and “Oklahoma” for $7 a month.
Although it’s too early to gauge how much traction the new offerings will gain, the ability to track usage gives the wireless industry a decided edge over TV in viewership statistics, Ellsworth said.
“What’s interesting about this is that these people go into the servers and see what people are watching most,” he explained. “Unlike the Nielsens, which is a little guesswork, we have our internal Nielsens that are the live traffic. They are very much being taught by the consumer.”
MobiTV, which offers both live and on-demand wireless video, claims that users generally prefer live content, while GoTV’s Ellsworth believes the mobile platform is better suited for on-demand clips. But both companies stress the importance of creating video content that specifically addresses both the advantages and the shortcomings of wireless phones.
“What we’ve found is that each medium has to stand on its own legs,” said MobiTV’s Whetstone. “I think there can be crossover, but ultimately I think mobile TV as a platform should be sort of on the same level as TV.
“If I want to watch the real “Lost,” I don’t want to watch it on my phone.”
GoTV, in fact, has established a studio dedicated to producing mobile-exclusive video, and is working on a style guide instructing producers how to develop content specifically for the medium. The company plans to create original programming including entertainment and sports shows, and hopes to develop its own stable of celebrities in the mobile video broadcasting space.
“Every platform seems to have invented new stars,” said Ellsworth. “We think we are going to be creating some of the original personalities in the same way that MTV created the `VJ.’ Everybody knew who J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn were…. We fully expect that we’ll be building that kind of talent here.”
