Reiter's Mobile TV Report

AOL to enhance video site for user-generated content, cellular videos

From LostRemote I see that AOL is enhancing its video site to promote user-generated content (see below), according to an article in the Washington Post, and also promising uploads from cellular in the near future.

The Washington Post says AOL is “giving customers the ability to upload videos from a camcorder, webcam, video-enabled cellphone or PC.”

AOL’s Uncut Video site includes an item about “More Great Stuff on the Way!” (see left) that says under “coming soon”:  Mobile uploading.  Also on the way is video search and new sharing features.

AOL also is offering more than 45 video on demand channels from such producers as the History Channel, Comedy Time, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, WNBA and Warner Bros.  AOL says the trend is towards advertiser-supported programs, not subscriptions.

Vodafone U.K. deemphasizes 3G; private report trashes subscriber interest

Vodafone U.K. is deemphasizing 3G services by cutting subsidies for 3G cellular phones, according to an article in The Sunday Times.

At the same time, Enders Analysis, a London consulting firm, has released a study it commissioned that says people aren’t interested in 3G services — including mobile television, the article says.

Vodafone is still promoting some 3G services, such as mobile TV and downloading music.  However, the cellular operator will employ 3G networks for the mass market to promote cheaper voice calls to capture customers from landline companies, such as BT, the article says.

Not interested in multimedia

The research report commissioned by Enders Analysis reports 63 percent of adults were completely uninterested in 3G services and 18 percent were not very interested.  Even subscribers who have 3G phones haven’t used them for many advanced services.

Based on the Enders Analysis study, The Sunday Times reports, “Seven out of ten had either never made a video call, or had done so only once.  More than half of 3G phone owners had never watched a video clip or downloaded music after an initial test.

“Three-quarters of consumers said they were unwilling to pay £5 [$9.25] a month to watch mobile TV.”

GigaOM reports Veeker developing wireless video social networking service

Katie Fehrenbacher of GigaOM reports on Veeker (nothing on the Web site), a company in stealth mode that’s developing a service combining camera phone videos with social networking.

The company is supposedly showing an alpha version to possible investors.

Veeker is based in San Francisco and has 15 employees.  According to Rodger Raderman, Veeker’s chief marketing officer, the company is “creating a mobile and Internet-based experience surrounding the behavior patterns that will emerge as mobile video cameras become ubiquitous,” GigaOM reports.

Veeker’s expertise

According to Raderman, Veeker’s engineers come from MobiTV, Digital Chocolate, Hands-On-Mobile, Amp’d and Kodak Mobile.  Fehrenbacher writes that Veeker “is both building and buying technology that ranges from mobile video upload and download, to mobile presence, to mobile/online networking and collaboration.”

She also notes, rightly so, that Veeker has its work cut out for itself with the many other camera phone and video sharing sites that are interested in wireless. 

Fehrenbacher says Veeker seems similar to the France-based vpod.tv.

Tough to accomplish

Offering a rich set of tools for camera phone videos is easier said than done.  Fehrenbacher notes “the mobile component for user-generated videos is tricky to do and expensive to do well.”

However, I have been saying for some time that the next frontier for wireless imaging will be camera phone-recorded videos.  The cellular operators seem to view this market as strictly for early adopters and aren’t spending much time marketing wireless video recording capabilities.

A few of the handset manufacturers, though, specifically Nokia and to a lesser extent Sony Ericsson, are promoting camera phone video recording.

BBC licenses 250+ TV videos to Vodafone for Australia, New Zealand.

BBC Worldwide has licensed to Vodafone more than 250 video clips of popular British television programs for broadcast via cellular in Australia and New Zealand, according an article in the DigitalBulletin.

The programs include "The Office," "Doctor Who," "Little Britain, "The League of Gentleman," "Goodness Gracious Me" and "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps."

This is the first time these programs' videos will be shown on mobile TV in Australia and the first time any BBC videos will be available for cellular in New Zealand, the article says. 

The videos will run for 30 seconds to three minutes. 

[Sent via TypePad wireless e-mail with RIM BlackBerry 8700g]

Toyota's TV ad promotes Fun Little Movies' "The Pool" cellular-only series

Toyota is running a 2007 Camry television commercial sponsoring Fun Little Movies' (FLM) (see below) new made-for-cellular series "The Pool" (short for "The Carpool") that will debut on August 9, according to the company's press release (that's published as, unfortunately, a pdf file).

FLM is touting the Camry spot as "the first broadcast television commercial promoting an original, made-for-mobile series."

The Toyota commercial, now showing on UPN, Fox, BET and ABC, is supposed to be available on FLM's site.  I saw it this morning on the FLM site, but this afternoon I get a 404 Not Found error when trying to view it.

Mobile TV spots debut

We're seeing the start of the advertising industry's entry into mobile television.   Ad agencies are just beginning to promote to current and potential clients their ability to create commercials that will run on cellular programs.

FLM specializes in producing mobile TV shows and the company says its productions have won more than 20 awards.  I'd like to know what shows have won awards because most of the many shows I saw on my Sprint handset this morning were pretty pathetic.

I was much more impressed with the mobile TV videos from BlipTV and you may see some of them for free on the company's Web site (see below) as well as viewing sample FLM shows on its Web site.  From what I've watched on my handset, BlipTV blows away FLM.

CNN solicits photos, videos from camera phones, other recording devices

From unmediated.org I see that CNN is now asking consumers to submit photos and videos -- from any type of device, including camera phones -- as well as audio files to its I-Report (see below).

CNN says, "Is news happening in front of your eyes?   Pull out your camera and I-Report it for CNN.

"Use the form on this page to send files from your computer.  Send cell phone video and photos to ireport@cnn.com.

"Some of the videos, photos and audio submitted may be selected for use on CNN.com, in CNN television programming or other CNN programming services, so by sending information you are agreeing to our terms of use."

Requirements

CNN requires such information as your name, address, e-mail address and phone number as well as information describing the photo, video or audio.

CNN says your information should answer the questions of who, what, where and when.  CNN didn't include the fifth word in the well known journalistic rule of thumb for writing an article:   Why.   

The maximum size for a photo is a 1 MB jpg or gif.  For videos the maximum size is 30 MBs and "most file types accepted."

For audio the maximum file size is 1 MB for mp3, wav or aiff.   

[Sent via TypePad wireless e-mail with RIM BlackBerry 8700g]

Motorola to purchase Broadbus for video on demand, including mobile

Motorola will purchase Broadbus Technologies that develops technology for video on demand, including mobile applications, according to the press release.

Motorola says in the release that the purchase will “address growing market opportunities such as mobile video, video on-demand (VOD), time-shifted TV, network-based digital video recording (nDVR), on-demand ad insertion (ODAI) and switched digital video (SDV).”

An article in Multichannel News highlights the value of the purchase for Motorola’s wireless efforts. 

Geoff Roman, corporate vice president of strategy and business development for Motorola’s Connected Home Solutions business, says, “We see this as something that works with mobile devices, and it’s going to work with a new range of devices that are going to link in through Wi-Fi hotspots or over WiMAX, plus taking advantage of the existing install base and growing that base over the conventional cable and telco environments.

“So we really see it as a beginning of a platform that will really change the on demand paradigm and integrate on-demand with streamed real-time, looking at storage of multiple resolution formats of the same content so you can access common devices.”

ABC to develop 13 two-minute cellular-only episodes of "Lost" for Verizon

From picturephoning.com I see that ABC will produce 13 two-minute cellular-only episodes of its hit television series “Lost” (see below) for broadcast this fall on Verizon Wireless, according to a report on ABC-TV in Chicago.

The article says about the mobile television episodes, “ In the series, Hurley becomes a filmmaker after finding a video camera on the island.” 

There isn’t much more in the article, but looking at SciFi411 (search for Verizon) I see that the cellular shows will feature “Lost” cast members.  An article in Broadcasting & Cable magazine says the cellular-only shows will be called “Lost Video Diaries.”

Using existing cast members

Carlton Cuse, the executive producer of “Lost,” says in an interview with “Sci Fi Wire” that “We don't want to do the “24” version where you're dealing with characters you've never seen and have no relation to the central characters.

“We feel if we're going to do the mobisodes, they have to feature the characters that are part of the world of Lost that you know and love.”

Finances of union participation

If you’re interested in the finances of developing “Lost” for cellular, check out the article in Broadcasting & Cable.  It discusses negotiations — and money — involved in working with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

Here’s what the article says about the finances:

“The WGA says the deal calls for use on cell phones after 13 weeks to trigger a residual like the pay TV model of 1.2% of the license fee for such use.  The figure remains the same if the mobisode is downloaded via the Internet, and rises to 2% if the Internet download is ad-supported.

“SAG says its deal provides for an escalating minimum wage beginning at $425 for an eight-hour day retroactive to April 1, and increases to $450 on April 1, 2007.

Residuals are also triggered after 13 weeks, and an actor will get a $75 advance against a residual of 3.6% of the license fee.  That figure also stays the same for Internet downloads, and jumps to 6% if ad-supported.”

Framework for the future

The article says Touchstone Television (that produces “Lost”) and the various Guilds “say they hope this agreement sets a framework for future negotiations within the new digital frontier.”

So, if you’re in the mobile TV business, these deals are good to know since there’s little doubt we’re going to be more TV spinoffs for cellular.

Asian Games in December to spark Qatar's Qtel new 3G network

Qatar’s only cellular operator, Qtel, has just launched its 3G network, starting with video calls, but the Asian Games scheduled in the country’s capital in December (see below) will spark other cellular video services.

The 15th Asian Games will be held in Doha, December 1 – 15, and Qtel is gearing for new multimedia services, as the cellular operator says on its Web site.  Qtel says “the full range of multimedia services will be available before the 15th Asian Games so users can record all the action from Doha 2006.” 

Whether that includes an “Asian Games Mobile TV Channel” isn’t discussed, but I assume 3G subscribers will at least be able to record videos and view select video clips of the event.  Qtel has more than 810,000 subscribers.

Hutchison 3 in Australia expects significant mobile TV revenues

The Australian cellular operator, Hutchison’s 3 network, “expects revenue from 3G mobiles to increase dramatically in the next 12 months as consumers ramp usage of mobile television technology,” according to an article in The Age.

Unfortunately, the article doesn’t detail much about that mobile TV growth.

Kevin Russell, the CEO of 3, says his company has about two thirds of 3G Australian cellular subscribers.  Telstra, Optus and Vodafone also provide 3G.  Russell says at the beginning of 2006, revenues from 3G were five percent to six percent of the company’s total mobile income.

Continued growth

“I think that has probably doubled to about 12 percent in the last seven months.  We are going to see that 12 percent increase rather rapidly over the next 24 to 36 months,” Russell says.

The 12 percent estimate is “conservative” and revenues would increase at least by six percent by the end of this year, Russell says.  “By the middle of 2007 you’ll see the growth accelerate.”

3 will shut down its 2G system permanently on August 9 and it has been trying to get customers to upgrade to 3G through aggressive marketing campaigns.