Monday September 15, 2008 – Antonette Goroch
The spotlight is now on mobile content after the initial buzz of network capacity and devices. The next focus should be on getting the business model right.
This was evident at the CTIA wireless show in San Francisco this week, with an array of announcements and initiatives for the U.S. mobile market focusing on more video content, more open mobile networks able to draw on the ever increasing wealth of web content, and more tools for personalization/social networking facilitating user generated content.
Verizon, for instance, had no new handsets to announce, but rather focused on the new video channels it was adding to its V Cast service, including new on demand access to shows like The Office, CSI, and The Hills. AT&T, meanwhile, announced a new “my communities” feature which allows users to access and manage all their social networking, such as Facebook and MySpace, through a single mobile access point. Add to this a variety of new tools and browsers for third party developers of all sizes to create content accessible across all mobile platforms, and you have a content explosion waiting to happen. You can see why this is just the beginning of the content revolution on the mobile device.
The quest for the right business models is still incomplete. Operators have experimented with pay video content services in the U.S., but uptake has been modest due to high prices and relatively little content up to this point. DTC estimates that there are only 6-7 million pay mobile video subs in the U.S. currently. The mobile video experience abroad suggests that free, ad supported models are the ones which can really drive penetration, but the volume of U.S. mobile video users has not yet been large enough to really stimulate advertiser interest in the medium here.
This could all change over the course of the next year, however, as this plethora of new content and tools is bound to drive consumer interest and video usage overall. The real challenge is monetizing it into a sustainable business
