Jun 06
22
TV on Mobile
TV on mobile phones is the hit of Broadcast Asia, the big trade show in Singapore this week, according to the BBC even in spite of the fact that there is no singular industry standard. People are snapping up handsets fast…
But there is a caveat:
The business model between mobile operators and
broadcasters remains obscure, as does the issue of who would regulate
mobile TV services.
Although mobile platforms have the potential to become
significant sources of revenue for broadcasters in Asia, the issue of
pricing is crucial, argued Jeremy Pink, president and managing director
of CNBC Asia Pacific.
“Despite an established market demand for mobile TV, it
is still not clear whether a large majority of consumers are ready to
pay a premium for content transmitted via handheld devices,” he warned.
I think that the whole idea of what entertainment needs to be reviewed for this space.
Sports: Maybe there will be an emergence of a new kind of sport for mobile. After all if you watch cricket on mobile the ball is going to be well sub-pixel in size…. Maybe basketball with a more highly coloured ball will become a hot mobile sport?
Lenght of Content: Research shows that people typically engage with content on mobile for very short periods of time. A new kind of programming will need to be constructed – and a new style of shooting that keeps all the action very tight. Some people are trying to create automated programs to do just this, but wouldn't it be better just to start with small. And this means editing on a super small screen too, in order to ensure that the content delivers a punch for the viewer.
Special Effects: What special effects would be good on mobile? Would audio play a more significant part? If you watch an action movie, would some kind of virtualized audio add to the experience?
I believe that this shift will have a much greater impact on content creation than content will have on it. This is the venue of the future. It is up to content makers to rise to the occasion, and for technologies to be created that will support the needs of the content creators – and those content creators may very well be consumers.