ASIA-PACIFIC BROADCASTING

Mobile media is poised for explosive growth, creating new revenue opportunities for broadcasters, wireless operators, content providers, advertisers and companies with complementary services and technologies. Industry analysts recognise the vast potential of mobile-media services, predicting the global market to surpass US$90 billion by 2018.

Consumer support for mobile media is also on the rise. Media research firm Nielsen reported a 70% year-over-year growth for mobile-video services in the US, calling mobile video “transformational technology” that will have a dramatic impact on our media economy. In Asia, broadcast mobile-TV services continue to do well with over 43 million ISDB-T One-Seg users in Japan and 15 million DMB users in South Korea.

The opportunity
Much of this increased mobile consumption is due to the proliferation of new mobile devices such as the iPhone and other smartphones featuring high-quality video capabilities, and the surge in mobile applications and services. Apple reported over 5.2 million iPhones sold during its fiscal 2009 third-quarter and its users have downloaded more than two billion applications from its App Store. Some 70% of Japanese social-network users access sites from a mobile phone; and Facebook has reported more than 30 million regular users via mobile phones. As a result, data traffic from mobile media has increased 350% over the past two years.

These figures demonstrate that the technology, content and, most importantly, demand for mobile media are all firmly in place and reflect a shift in how consumers access, view and engage mobile content. Consumers demand greater flexibility over where and when they consume content, such as freedom of place and time so they are not tied to their home screens or tethered to a broadcast TV schedule. Rather than flipping through hundreds of channels, they want intuitive discovery and recommendations to find content that is personally relevant. They also want interactive capabilities that provide connectivity to friends and colleagues through messaging and social networks.
The convergence of mobile media with social-networking applications and the increased consumer demand for them provide a unique opportunity for an integrated entertainment service that brings together all of these elements.

Expanding access
Consumers have a wealth of information and entertainment devices from which to choose. Increasingly, the line between various categories of devices is blurring. From the proven — mobile phones, laptops and personal media players, to the emerging — smartbooks, portable gaming consoles and in-vehicle mobile-TV devices, multi-functional devices and applications are appearing that deliver information and entertainment on the move.

With worldwide smartphones expected to reach 600 million in 2013, low-cost accessories that enable mobile-media delivery to smartphones are in demand. Connectivity via USB, mini-USB or Wi-Fi devices will unlock a vast installed user base. And, new devices that provide content and services using broadcast delivery in place of wireless connectivity are proliferating. FLO TV has announced a new digital handheld TV for the US market — the FLO TV Personal Television — for broadcast mobile TV including breaking news, live sports, and children’s and prime-time programming. The device will be sold direct to consumers without the need for cellular activation through an operator.

In markets such as Japan, where users may commute long distances on public transportation, there is a growing interest in personal media players and public mobile TVs. Outdoor digital signage displays are also being used to deliver media to consumers outside the home — KDDI, Samsung Japan and Toyota are among the companies trying new ways to expand media access — in malls, in schools and on the road.

In North America, where consumers often travel long distances by car, consumers have embraced in-car DVD players to provide entertainment during long road trips. Today there are over 23 million vehicles in the US equipped with entertainment systems. To exploit that demand, FLO TV has teamed up with Audiovox to launch a broadcast mobile-TV service for cars later this year. This relationship allows US consumers to watch live TV through rear-seat automotive entertainment systems.

An integrated service offering
Delivering such a broad range of formats and services to such a wide variety of devices is technically challenging. From a technology standpoint, streaming 3G, Wi-Fi and mobile broadcast technologies each serve different mobile consumer needs. 3G networks are well suited to deliver long-tail content such as niche programming and on-demand services. In addition, they provide immense content variety and a return path for interactive applications such as voting, rating, messaging and m-commerce. Side-loading content over Wi-Fi or wired broadband is useful when 3G is not available or content is not time-sensitive.

Mobile broadcast technologies, such as FLO technology, provide instant-gratification for live, time-sensitive content, including exclusive sports events, concerts and breaking news — when millions of consumers may be accessing the same content simultaneously. Mobile broadcast networks can also be employed to deliver live and time-shifted mobile content, including popular full-length programming, clipcasting media such as the day’s top YouTube videos, and always-on, broadcast IP data services such as news, weather and sports highlights.

Combined, these three mobile content-delivery mechanisms provide true time- and place-shifting, allowing consumers the freedom and control to watch what they want, where and when they want. A successful, fully-integrated mobile-media service leveraging all three technologies would provide the depth and breadth of popular and personalised content, services and features consumers desire in a seamless and compelling user experience. An integrated service approach would also empower mobile-media providers to differentiate their services and compete more effectively to win and retain customers.

Deploying a successful mobile-media service has much in common with any other large-scale consumer service. It takes time, investment, a clear strategy, sound execution and the flexibility to quickly adjust to consumer trends and lessons learnt. Mass-market adoption of integrated mobile-media services is only a matter of time; and when it hits, the advantages will go to the industry’s first movers.

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3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."