How media buyers will come to worship the mobile phone

quite simply, it will become the pre-eminent device for interaction and
entertainment.

I'm not just talking about a new dimension to any
time, anywhere entertainment – this "more real than reality TV" content
will become cult viewing.

One of the mobile phone's greatest
boons is that mobile service providers have created a strong, secure
payment infrastructure that has been adopted internationally.

Mobile
operators are offering a raft of payment options that enable content
providers to interact with the consumer simply and, critically, at a
very low cost per transaction.

And today, that content includes TV programmes.

Java still rules

Despite
the lack of 3G networks – the technology widely expected to underpin
mobile TV – high quality TV channels delivering music, cult soaps and
weather, for example, are available on any Java-enabled phone.

The
appeal of TV on the move is not new. Early attempts at tiny, portable
TVs stretch back as far as the 1980s. Yet such products have always
failed to take off due to the quality of service and complexity
associated with charging users for the programmes watched.

Just
as many old radio shows cannot be transferred to the internet today due
to limitations of the contracts written decades before the technology
was conceived, the challenges associated with licensing content for
mobile transmission have been a major stumbling block.

Is today's
mobile generation now ready for sitcoms on the run? Indeed,
realistically, will today's terrestrial TV channels transfer to the
mobile device?

The technology is undoubtedly viable on modern
phones, but content owners will have some serious negotiations to
undertake to address licensing complexities.

Content is key

Programme content will, of course, be key to the success of mobile TV.

Should
mobile TV simply replicate fixed services, accommodating the expected
delay while legal matters are resolved, or should it use the medium to
deliver a new style of content that reflects the interests of the prime
15-25 mobile population?

Mobile TV has the potential to deliver
new, revolutionary content that will extend the entertainment concept
rather than extending the ways in which we can view traditional TV.

Indeed,
if content providers embrace the opportunities mobile TV delivers, the
long term implications for traditional TV programming will be
significant, as consumer demands shift and evolve.

So what can content providers offer the consumer today?

At a basic level, using existing Java-enabled phones, users can download video clips up to 30 seconds long.

Far more interesting for content providers and users is the use of streaming technology.

Using
a player – technology which is increasingly bundled with new phones –
users can access large numbers of TV channels. Critical for content
providers is the use of middleware that ensures programmes are player
independent, since no one player has yet attained market domination.

With
this in place, content providers can leverage the robust billing
engines used by mobile operators to deliver a raft of programmes to the
customer base.

New channel

Mobile TV gives content providers, media organisations and marketing companies access to a new communication channel.

As
a first step, organisations can leverage existing internet content –
from web cams to weather watch – delivering it, for profit, via the
mobile network.

Using the strong mobile billing solutions,
content providers can offer users a range of TV channels and access to
archived material.

As with traditional broadcasts, content will
be delivered to a pre-defined schedule and users will simply scroll
around it to find the right channel.

Getting the pricing right
will be important. In addition to a small, up-front registration fee,
most providers should offer a mix of free and paid-for content to build
up audience momentum.

One important factor for content providers
is that mobile technology addresses the pressing issue of digital
rights management (DRM).

Ensuring that content can be viewed once
only and not replicated for unauthorised distribution is a major
concern, particularly for those providing music channels. Using mobile
TV, the content is downloaded and viewed once. It cannot be duplicated.

But
if users are unable to view the latest episode of The Simpsons or
EastEnders on a handset in the very near future, what will they be
watching? Will they be watching at all?

Initially, mobile TV will
undoubtedly create a cult audience. One Australian company has already
committed to the medium for its numerous web cams, while another
company is providing a music channel for unsigned artists.

Cult viewing

It
will, however, be essential to create some cult TV viewing,
particularly to appeal to the core 15-25 audience. And that means
extending the reality TV concept. Innovative web cams and home-made
soap operas can be transferred directly from the internet. Interest in
these programmes should both generate revenue and propagate the
concept, encouraging more content providers to deliver "more real than
reality TV" programmes – all within the appropriate bounds of decency.

With
the right cost model that combines free-to-air with paid-for channels,
content providers have a low-cost route to a huge, untapped market.

The
15-25 bracket is already leading the way in buying ring tones, graphics
and games via the mobile and is entirely comfortable with the use of
the mobile as an entertainment device.

If the early content
providers get the mix of price and programming right, it will be only a
matter of time before owners of prime time TV content look to get into
the market.

But is this television or simply an extension of the internet to the mobile phone?

Certainly,
in its current incarnation, it is not broadband television. But
replicating traditional TV is not the role the mobile should play. Such
an approach undermines the mobile device's potential.

Mobile TV
is not about simply replicating traditional TV content. Rather, this
development marks the beginning of the mobile phone becoming the device
of choice for a range of voice- and data based activities that will
continue to transform the way in which we interact with people,
information and entertainment services and that will have a significant
effect on traditional TV broadcast content.

The mobile phone will
become the primary interaction and entertainment device for the next
decade – if the service providers get it right.

Graham Baines is managing director of global mobile entertainment provider Fonedream.

What's in it for advertisers?

With
advertising revenues increasingly challenged by devices that enable the
traditional TV viewer to cut out advertising altogether, is there an
opportunity for media buyers to refocus their attention and leverage
this burgeoning mobile TV market?

In fact, despite its ubiquity,
the mobile phone has yet to attract the interest of the advertising
industry, beyond a few "text if you're a winner" promotions.

The
arrival of mobile TV, however, should transform the industry's
investment in the medium, offering as it does an unprecedented
opportunity for both targeting and direct interaction.

The
advertising opportunities within mobile TV are diverse. Certainly many
organisations will be looking at providing services akin to the digital
TV "red button", enabling consumers to click through to additional
product information.

But even more interesting will be the
delivery of advertising that is more akin to traditional commercial
television – but without the expense or lack of focus.

Such
advertising can be streamed alongside any programme, video or clip to a
filtered, pre-defined audience based on the message, profile and user
demographic.

This can be enhanced through a WAP push or bookmark
that takes the user direct to a site dedicated to that advert,
providing the call to action that so few of the traditional,
scattergun-based brand awareness adverts can deliver.

This model
will require content creators to combine the increasing sophistication
of web-based banners and download offers with traditional TV
advertising to deliver information that attracts the relevant audience
demographic and prompts that interaction.

And with no need for large production and broadcast budgets, the barriers to entry to this market are low.

With
mobile manufacturers such as Nokia and Samsung now actively promoting
mobile TV, there is a clear opportunity for advertisers to get an early
start with new, innovative campaigns that really grab the audience's
attention.

Within 18 months, this medium will have become a
standard and increasingly critical component of a brand's advertising
portfolio.