Summary
Mobile TV is all hype with little interest from the user in the street at present.
Content makers are yet to commit to support the Mobile TV sector.
Equipment makers need first off to agree on a global standard.
Analysis
Cards on the table, I do not watch a lot of TV at home and so I am not a likely candidate for Mobile TV. However I do own a LCD HD television from Sony and I am one on the few in the UK who also have a HD feed. A number of former workmates are now developing Mobile TV services both here in the UK and in the US. I have been "lucky" to be involved in a number of trials in the UK of Mobile TV. These few facts mean that I might be more qualified than most to make some observations.
I recent conversation with the head of new technology at the BBC was interesting in that he questioned the BSKYB numbers for Mobile TV, he also had reservations as to what content people will watch, when and where they will do so. He does see a future for Mobile TV but at present he sees it as little more that side loaded video content, an if that is so say that people will prefer to watch such things on a PSP or Video iPod. The fact that the BBC has extended a trail of Mobile News content for a year has see one rival complain to the OFCOM that they are stifling competition!
Talking to those that did try Sky content on their phones most said that they did so because they were not subscribers at home and when asked if they would pay to do so on a mobile most have said that at present the answer is no. The Vodafone figures for MobileTV have to be seen in the light of the fact that you can get a subscription for free as part of the loyalty programme for contract customers spending over £35 per month. In the prepaid market how are Sky hoping to get people to pay £5 per month subscription charges when the average UK balance is less than £4 according to work done by M:Metrics?
Talking with senior executives in the Content creation market makes for an interesting time; a number see the new Qualcomm Mediaflow handset a fixing issues raised in early trials. However they have not been able to source trial handsets at present to test services. When it comes to outside the US, Qualcomm are not leading the field in chipsets for mobile and are someway off for the coming years.
Once you have a standard, then you are going to get some spectrum for it. Whilst Governments like the idea of yet more Auction fees, the networks have got smarter since the 3G madness and are unlikely to compete with one another when the sale does take place.
If Mobile TV is to be a success then you will need to discover a business model that sees excellent content available for free to the consumer on a device that has broadcast quality in terms of screen, audio and signal. Do we have that at present today with mobile phones? Just think when was the last time you dropped a call? Can you see the screen on a sunny day? If you cannot answer yes to the questions then I guess that it will not be TV it will be Video that you are watching on you phone and we have that already.
