Action Urged on Mobile TV

A significant number of European countries still need to make decisions to be able to exploit the current market potential of Mobile TV.
That’s the conclusion of a study published recently by the Broadcast Mobile Convergence Forum (bmcoforum). The study analyses the status of national licensing frameworks for terrestrial mobile broadcast TV in 23 countries, including 21 from Europe. It concludes that a significant number of countries are still lagging behind the most advanced countries in defining their regulatory framework, including the licensing conditions and processes.
In Italy, where Mobile TV services have been operating for around two years, about one million users own Mobile TV-capable devices. The granting of licences has been completed in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands and Switzerland, and is in process in France and Hungary. Therefore, the majority of central European countries have assigned terrestrial frequencies, established regulatory and licensing frameworks and have started or are about to launch mobile broadcast TV services in 2008.
Other countries such as Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Spain, as well as the majority of Northern and East European countries have not yet decided upon licensing conditions and processes. These processes normally take quite some time and effort requiring public consultations and law changes. bmcoforum therefore sees an urgent need for these countries to speed up the decision process, in order to take advantage of the present market opportunities for terrestrial mobile broadcast TV.
“As, according to the European Commission, mobile broadcast TV can reach a worldwide market worth up to €20 billion (£15.8 billion) by 2011, bmcoforum is urging all national regulators to allow for a fast service kick-off in their countries”, says bmcoforum Executive Director, Prof. Dr. Claus Sattler. "Further analysis of regulation and licensing practice, and of the experiences of countries more advanced in these processes, is under way at bmcoforum, to support implementations of regulatory frameworks in countries which are about to decide on their regulatory frameworks and preferred business models."
You can download a copy of the full report here.

ROK Buys Jalipo

ROK Entertainment Group has acquired IPTV firm Jalipo for total consideration of 600,000 ordinary shares. Jalipo Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jalipo and the only operating function therein, is a UK-registered IPTV company which offers live streaming of TV content over the Internet. According to ROK, Jalipo is the first online marketplace for TV and video, allowing content owners to use the Internet to offer their channels, video-on-demand and live events direct to viewers around the world.
"This acquisition is of great strategic importance to ROK, as it furthers our presence in the Mobile TV market,” says ROK CEO, Laurence Alexander. "There are significant synergies between Jalipo's product offering and our own, which we look forward to incorporating within and, as a result, enhancing, ROK's delivery portfolio."

Satellite Solution for Mobile TV?

While the European Mobile TV market is on the verge of significant growth, it still faces problems related to the efficient transmission and distribution of Mobile TV services. This being the case, recent and emerging studies have clearly shown the use of satellite technologies for Mobile TV services to be a sensible and cost-effective solution. Hence, the use of satellite services can be expected to significantly aid the sustainable growth in spread, quality and reliability of Mobile TV service offerings.
This is the conclusion of new analysis from Frost & Sullivan’s Space & Communications Group,   ‘European Mobile Satellite TV Markets’, which finds that that the market earned revenues of $1.92 million (£1 million) in 2007 and estimates this to reach $3.28 billion in 2014.
European Mobile Satellite TV Markets is part of the Space & Communications Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in Commercial Geostationary Transponder Markets for EMEA, NAM and Asia and Eastern European VSAT Markets. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.
“As Mobile TV services continue to grow across Europe, customers and operators require a reliable and pervasive service coverage, which can transmit high-quality, dedicated programs,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Natalie Bentz. “The distribution and transmission by satellite, through the hybrid network or backhaul, will both greatly contribute to the success of Mobile TV, by providing what the industry and the customers ask for.”
The hybrid network solution for Mobile TV offers great potential in terms of distribution, says Frost, answering the operators’ and customers’ needs for reception in urban and rural areas, as well as indoor and outdoor settings. It adds that the utilization of the S-band, which will be allocated European Union-wide, will reduce spectrum difficulties that could be experienced when using other frequencies.
The report also says that using satellite backhaul for the distribution of Mobile TV has fundamental advantages, as backhaul is a known solution for data and video applications. Another advantage is that, in contrast to the direct/hybrid satellite solution in the S-band, this model is not affected by the standardization problem. Further, as this solution does not involve a direct link from the satellite to the end user, no specific devices or chipsets are needed.
The study notes, however, that both hybrid network and satellite backhaul solutions face some problems in the market, including competing alternatives through terrestrial networks.
“By the time of the scheduled availability of the satellite segment for the hybrid solution, terrestrial alternatives will already have established themselves in some markets,” says Bentz. “The solution of satellite backhaul faces problems related to the bandwidth hungriness of Mobile TV applications.”
Overall, the example of the Mobile TV market in Italy shows that there is still significant room for improvement, and that the hybrid network solution can bring just that, as customers require a high level and spread of service coverage and quality.
To request a brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an outline of the European Mobile Satellite TV markets, send an e-mail to joanna.lewandowska@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

GoldSpot in Denuo Tie-up

GoldSpot Media, which specializes in dynamic ad-insertion for Mobile TV and video, has entered into a partnership with Denuo, the media futures practice of marketing services holding company Publicis Groupe, S.A., to expand its insight into the behaviour and motivation of the mobile consumer, and to collaborate on the enhancement and development of the company’s current and future Mobile TV and video advertising offerings.
GoldSpot Media’s dynamic ad-insertion solution adapts the proven inventory and revenue-sharing business models used successfully in traditional TV and optimises them for the mobile medium.The end-to-end solution enables personalised, interactive ad insertion and replacement in rebroadcast TV content, as well as short clips over 3G. By leveraging Denuo’s knowledge of the mobile consumer thought and buying process, in addition to the evolving needs of the advertising buying community, GoldSpot says it can continue to advance its offerings to meet the Mobile TV and video ARPU projections of mobile service providers around the world.
“As our Mobile TV and video advertising model is being evaluated by mobile service providers around the world, we’re constantly receiving feedback on a wide range of issues that will ultimately determine the viability of this new advertising media,” says William Ganon, Senior Vice President of Advertising Strategy at GoldSpot Media. “By partnering with Denuo, we’ve added the insight of some of the most knowledgeable, experienced and innovative thinkers in the global mobile advertising industry. The Denuo partnership bolsters our strategic capabilities and creates a collaborative development environment that ensures our products are meeting the needs and best practices of the mobile advertising industry.”
Denuo will provide GoldSpot Media with insight into current advertising market demands, including planning and buying requirements for online, mobile and TV advertising, and guidance on advertising model priorities to generate value for all key players in the Mobile TV and video value chain.
“We believe that there is a significant untapped market for Mobile TV and video advertising,” says Denuo Senior Vice President of Ventures, Timothy Hanlon. “Strategic, collaborative partnerships within the Mobile TV and video value-chain are the key to establishing sustainable business models and maximizing the advertising potential of the medium. GoldSpot’s unique mobile video advertising solution offers the potential to significantly enhance the business case for Mobile TV and video advertising.”

Digital Dividend Study Published

The European economy would receive a financial boost of at least €95 billion (£75 billion) over the next 20 years, if one quarter of the UHF band were instead allocated for mobile broadband services, according to independent study published by Spectrum Value Partners.
The report, ‘Getting the most out of the digital dividend’, was commissioned by Ericsson, Nokia, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone, and claims to be the first comprehensive economic analysis of the costs and benefits of allocating different quantities of UHF spectrum for mobile broadband and broadcast use throughout Europe.
Although the size of the benefits differ between individual Member States, the potential €95 billion windfall to the European economy represents additional value specifically associated with the use of the UHF spectrum. It is in addition to the €2.5 trillion generated by the European mobile industry using other spectrum in the same period between 2008 and 2027.
The study also shows that, with the remainder of the band, broadcasters are expected to generate more than €750 billion for the European economy during the same period, reflecting the large individual and social benefits from terrestrial broadcasting. It assumes that all existing free-to-air analogue broadcast TV channels will continue to be provided in either high definition or standard definition formats, and finds that the majority of the value which could be created by broadcasters is already provided by existing analogue channels, rather than by the launch of new digital-only channels.
The study also finds that much of the value associated with the use of UHF spectrum for mobile services is attributed to providing wider and lower-cost broadband coverage. Together with a 12MHz ‘guard band’ to prevent interference between mobile broadband and TV services, the mobile industry would need between 40MHz and 140MHz under a wide range of plausible demand scenarios. This could help generate a range from at least €63 billion to as much as €165 billion of additional value for the European economy.
It also concludes that allocating at least 92MHz (including the ‘guard band’) of UHF spectrum, to mobile operators - a quarter of the total UHF band currently used for the provision of broadcast services - would be most likely to maximise additional value for the European economy as a whole.
Finally, the report says, delaying the release of UHF spectrum by three years would cost Europe €20 billion.
“The efficient use of the UHF spectrum is vital if Europe is to remain a global leader in both broadcasting and mobile communications in the coming decades,” says Richard Feasey, Public Policy Director at Vodafone. “We join the European Parliament and the European Commission in urging Member States to act now. The study, for the first time, bridges the gap between the two sectors and provides policymakers with the tools to work out how best to use the digital dividend in each Member State. It shows all of us the enormous economic consequences of those decisions. We intend this study to be a major input into the Regulatory Impact Assessment which the European Commission has said it intends to undertake this summer, but which we believe should also be undertaken by each and every Member State over the next 12 months. If we delay further, Europe will pay a heavy price. “
Catherine Trautmann, MEP and rapporteur in the current review of EU telecommunications legislation, has also suggested that every Member State should be required to establish a National Digital Dividend Plan. The US completed an auction of UHF TV radio spectrum in March, this year. To date, only three European Member States have developed firm proposals for the digital dividend in Europe. 

ROK Signs Up for Telenor's Playground

Mobile entertainment company, ROK Entertainment Group, has revealed that its  ROK TV Mobile TV service, and its mobile conference-calling service, ROK Talk, have been added to Telenor’s 'Playground'  service.
Playground, operated by Telenor, is a meeting place for developers, established mobile service suppliers and Telenor’s operational companies, designed to act as a showcase for innovative mobile services which can be shared and promoted within the Telenor Group.
Telenor is emerging as one of the fastest growing providers of mobile communications services worldwide. The company is also the largest provider of TV services in the Nordic region and is organised into three business areas; Mobile operations, covering 12 countries, and Fixed-line Services and Broadcast Services, which cover the Nordic region.
The Telenor Group is ranked as the world’s seventh largest mobile operator, with more than 143 million mobile subscribers globally. It was recently named as the Sector Leader in mobile telecommunications by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
“We’re delighted to have partnered with Telenor Playground for the promotion of our revenue-generating mobile services, and we look forward to working with Telenor’s operating companies globally going forward,” says ROK Group CEO. Laurence Alexander.

GoldSpot Launches Trial-in-a-Box Mobile TV Solution

GoldSpot Media has announced the launch of ‘Trial-in-a-Box’, which it says is the first rapid prototyping platform providing a controlled environment for evaluating the profitability of targeted, interactive mobile broadcast TV advertising models. 
GoldSpot says it has launched the solution in order to accelerate the process of identifying and evaluating profitable and sustainable business models, in response to the two major barriers to the commercialisation of mobile broadcast services: the ROI from the significant cost of deployment;  and subscriber unwillingness to pay sizable monthly subscriptions for the service.
Trial-in-a-Box leverages GoldSpot’s end-to-end dynamic ad-insertion solution for broadcast TV and streaming video on mobile phones. It adapts the proven inventory and revenue-sharing business models used successfully in the traditional TV market and optimizes them for the mobile medium. Trial-in-a-Box provides Mobile TV value chain partners with the ability to test the effectiveness of multiple advertising business models, ranging from free broadcast TV to individual pay-per-stream, and everything in between.   
“Virtually everything is in place today, including mature broadcast technologies, standardization, mobile broadcast terminals, high quality content and consumer acceptance, to make interactive mobile broadcast TV a reality," says GoldSpot Media Senior Vice President, Business Development, Staffan Nilsson.  "The glaring exception is proof that it can be profitable to the entire value-chain. Trial-in-a-Box is designed to help solve the Catch-22. It’s the first controlled opportunity for Mobile TV service providers and ad inventory holders to determine how to optimally integrate advertising to create highly-profitable mobile video services across broadcast and 3G.”
GoldSpot says its Mobile TV and video advertising solution facilitates the creation of new ad and interactivity formats, allowing ad inventory owners to analyze appropriate advertising models based on their regional regulatory environments. The Trial-in-a-Box product will allow service providers to conduct advertising experiments with various forms of broadcast content, including live broadcasts, such as sports and news; recorded content, such as movies and TV shows; and tailored made-for-mobile content.

Accenture Study Reveals Changing TV Viewing Habits

Consumers are growing increasingly disenchanted with their overall TV experience but are nonetheless remaining remarkably loyal to their favourite programmes, according to results from Accenture's inaugural Global Broadcast Consumer Survey, which quizzed approximately, 1,000 consumers in six countries - France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US – and around 500 each in Mexico and Brazil, Accenture conducted the survey to analyze how people in multiple global markets consume and respond to broadcast content, and how they are adapting to the new content delivery methods.
The survey found that although television remains the predominant mass communications device worldwide, with 97% of respondents watching TV in a typical week, consumption patterns vary based on a number of factors including geography, age and socio-economic status. While some 70% of consumers watch four or more television programs a week, 71% of them watch programmes on four or more television channels.
Accenture says this channel-hopping demonstrates that consumers are more loyal to the content they want to watch rather than the branded distribution channel to which they may be accustomed. This affords an opportunity for content creators, studios and networks to begin delivering content to consumers on multiple channels and through multiple devices, creating new ways to interact with consumers, and entirely new revenue streams.
David Wolf, a Senior Executive with Accenture’s Media & Entertainment practice, believes the research suggests that TV is rapidly shifting from its origins as a clearly-identifiable stand-alone medium.
“People are experiencing new consumption opportunities and moving away from traditional, linear programming,” says Wolf. “And age has become the leading indicator of these new behavioral preferences, with consumers under 35 years old clearly the best indicator of these impending changes and future broadcast consumption patterns. Today’s youth are more dissatisfied with the traditional television experience and increasingly excited by the availability of new choices.”
The study found that in the US, 46% of 18-24 year-olds view content via mobile devices; but there is considerably less interest among those 55 and older (19%). According to Wolf, this dramatic behavioural shift represents the beginnings of a wave of change that will ultimately transform the content production and distribution marketplace worldwide. He says:
“The under 35-year-old group is more likely to watch content on alternative devices, more likely to be familiar with On Demand TV, prefers watching content on demand and is more willing to pay to download content. User-generated content ranks highly on mobile, reflecting the expanding photo and video capabilities of mobile handsets and the potential for easy sharing either face-to-face or via messaging.”
The survey findings underscore the fact that consumers throughout the world today have more power and control than ever before in terms of what to watch, when to watch it, and on what device. In today’s digital environment, says Accenture, the definition of what constitutes “TV” and its intended purpose is getting increasingly blurred, as ambitious new entrants, channels and new interactive capabilities flood in from all sides.
The study found that 0ne in three adults in the eight countries surveyed access programmes via an alternative device in a typical week, with Italy (41%), France (36%) and Spain (35%) the highest, while Brazil is the lowest at 17%.
There’s more information on Accenture’s Global Broadcast Consumer Survey here.

S3 Wins Garmin Mobile TV Task

Silicon & Software Systems (S3) has revealed that its ‘onHandTV’ Mobile TV software has been licensed by portable satellite navigation company Garmin. The software will provide Garmin’s nüvi 900T navigator with digital TV functionality. The navigator is co-branded with wireless carrier 3 Italia for deployment in its DVB-H network and will be available in July 2008 in Italy.
S3 says it was selected by Garmin because it delivered a low risk solution and enabled a fast time to market. It adds that its proven interoperability with multiple networks and service protection vendors, and their support for multiple industry standards, gives the 900T a global reach into countries launching Mobile TV services.
“Garmin, as the global leader in portable consumer navigation products, is one of S3’s most coveted customers and I am proud to add them to our list of onHandTV licensees”, says John Maguire, General Manager, Consumer Mobile at S3. “S3 is at the forefront of enabling enriched TV services on multiple devices, and we believe that portable navigation systems offer a compelling personal TV experience to consumers. We are at a critical tipping point in the industry where new business models and converged services are changing the way we consume TV and location-aware TV products will have a significant part to play in the future.”
S3’s Consumer Mobile group delivers broadcast and streaming Mobile TV products and services to broadcasters, cellular operators and OEMs in the cellular, personal navigation device and laptop markets. The company offers a range of products from key Mobile TV components to complete turnkey solutions.

Skins Goes Mobile on WeGlu

Channel 4’s digital youth channel E4 has launched its award-winning youth drama ‘Skins’ into the mobile social network WeGlu. Fans of the show, currently enjoying a second successful series, can receive updates and exclusive content from the show during and between episodes. Viewers can download WeGlu to their mobile and find Skins in their address book alongside all their other friends. E4 can then send content from the series, including unseen footage and preview material, to create anticipation about the next episode.
WeGlu is a social networking service designed for the 50 to 100 million young people worldwide that have modern mobile phones. It also provides any organisation, such as media companies, sporting clubs and music companies, with web 2.0 communication tools that engage this web- and mobile-savvy audience. 
“Being able to have a dialogue with their fans is key for these organisations”, says WeGlu Co-founder, Paul Phillips.  “Getting into fans’ address books is permission-based, so they are telling you: ‘I’ll give you the right to communicate with me as long as your stuff is entertaining or useful.’”
Cameron Saunders, Head of Marketing for Digital Channels at Channel 4, says
“We have been very successful at extending Skins into social networks on the web. WeGlu gives us the ability to have richer conversations with Skins fans and to weave our content into their conversations, wherever they are".

Ofcom Confirms L-Band Plans

Communications regulator Ofcom has confirmed details of its plans to auction radio spectrum suitable for a range of services, including Mobile TV and satellite radio. The provisional deadline for applications is 10 April 2008, with the online auction likely to start at the end of April.
A number of possible uses of the 1452 - 1492 MHz band, the so-called ‘L-Band’, have been identified, including mobile multimedia services including Mobile TV; broadband wireless access or high-speed Internet on the move; and digital satellite radio.
The release of the spectrum is part of a wider programme to release around 400MHz of prime spectrum. Other awards in this programme include the digital dividend - the spectrum that will be freed-up through the switch to digital television - and the
2.6GHz band. 
The spectrum, which is available over much of Europe, will be released on a technology- and service-neutral basis, allowing users the flexibility to decide what technology to use, what services to offer, and to change their use of the spectrum over time. All licences will be tradable.
“Ofcom's fifth award of spectrum in the L-Band is part of the process of ensuring that the UK's valuable spectrum resource is used as efficiently as possible,” says Ofcom Spectrum Policy Partner, Philip Rutnam. “This spectrum provides an opportunity for citizens and consumers to benefit from new services and greater competition.”
To see the full statement on the spectrum auction, click here.

Gorillabox Partners with WRN

Gorillabox, the fully-managed Mobile TV enabler, has partnered with TV and radio transmission company WRN, to provide a range of Mobile TV services to media companies.
Gorillabox’s G-Box platform, which can create, host and deliver mobile Internet sites, will be made available to WRN’s clients around the world. These include international public service broadcasters such as Voice of America, commercial stations such as Virgin Radio, and satellite bouquet operators and community stations. Gorillabox says it will be able to offer these clients mobile video streaming, specifically tailored for their individual needs.
Gorillabox will be responsible for the deployment of content on the streaming platform, and for billing integration and customer care, while WRN will approach customers to offer the service, agree pricing and define the client’s marketing goals.
Marina Lois, product development manager at WRN, says the company is proud to be teaming up with Gorrillabox to give broadcasters the opportunity to reach their audiences through mobile phones.
“WRN has always offered easy access to global media platforms,” says Lois. “This service can be tailored to fit the needs of all broadcasters, both TV and radio, streaming and on demand.”
Gorillabox CEO Christian Harris adds:
“It’s an exciting opportunity for Gorillabox and means our streaming media services covering both audio and video will have a truly global reach. WRN has an impressive portfolio of clients, and this initiative will allow their clients to reap the benefits of mobile as an additional channel for distribution of their content.”

Rubberduck Brings Mobile TV to Norway

Netcom, TeliaSonera’s Norwegian brand, has launched a Mobile TV Player that supports live TV channels and video-on-demand (VOD) content, in partnership with Scandinavian Mobile TV enabler, Rubberduck Media Lab.
Rubberduck will manage the Mobile TV service, providing the complete technical back-end solution and all content-sourcing services. The solution will run on NetCom’s 2.5G/3G network. NetCom subscribers can download the TV player application to their handset by texting TV to 1989. Rubberduck says the experience will be much like consumers enjoy watching television at home, with the ability to switch channels and access programme guides.
“This solution is the first of its kind in Norway, and is more user-friendly than the WAP-based solutions we know today,” says Marius Halle, Head of Content Services at NetCom. “If Mobile TV is going to be a killer application, the service needs to be easy to use. With this new solution, we are way ahead. The way I see it, the future is very bright.’ Halle adds.
Rubberduck Media Lab hosts Mobile TV services for operators like HI3G and Telenor and for broadcasting companies like the BBC and MTV.
“We are excited to partner with NetCom because they share our belief in providing high quality, engaging Mobile TV experiences to consumers," says Rubberduck CEO, Ola Svartberg.

ROK Unveils FreeBe TV Advertisers

ROK Entertainment Group has revealed that Cadbury Creme Egg, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment ‘24’ and Codemasters are the first advertiser brands on its free mobile TV service, FreeBe TV.
“Cadbury have been investigating mobile opportunities for 2008 where relevant, acknowledging that this is a media platform that cannot be disregarded,” says Amber Williamson from Cadbury’s media agency, Starcom Mediavest Group.
FreeBe TV is subscription-free, multi-channel Mobile TV streamed over 2.5G, 3G and wi-fi and is available via Nokia Video Center on the N95 and 8GB handsets. It offers a combination of live and on-demand Mobile TV, and is aimed at mobile users who have a data package included in their mobile tariff. The service carries approximately 10 seconds of advertising per channel in an unbroken video stream of up to 10 minutes.
“The key aspect to mobile advertising is to engage with the viewer rather than alienate him, as the tolerance for irrelevant advertising on mobile phones is considerably less than on any other medium,” says ROK CEO Laurence Alexander. “After all, people watch Mobile TV for just a few minutes at a time.”

ROK Goes Live and Loopy in China

ROK Entertainment Group, the UK-based mobile technologies, applications and entertainment development company, has revealed that it will be broadcasting the Chinese ‘Spring Festival Evening Gala’ in cooperation with China Central Television (CCTV) International Network Company, a Chinese corporation, affiliated with China Central TV Station.
ROK will provide live and looped broadcasting of the event for mobile users in the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand through its ROK TV and FreeBe TV products. CCTV will offer live streaming to mobile users in mainland China via its Mobile TV service.
The live broadcasting of the festival, which has been enjoyed by Chinese at home and abroad since it was first distributed in 1983, will this year be on a much larger scale than previously, covering a greater audience and offering more programmes. 
“We are delighted to be working with CCTV.com in delivering one of the foremost Chinese festivals to mobile subscribers globally,” says Paul Lessells, CEO of ROK’s China-based subsidiary, ROK New Net. “We will be concentrating our marketing efforts on generating viewers among Chinese communities, who will be able to experience the celebrations for themselves. We also hope to inform and interest others living abroad by providing a visual insight into Chinese culture.”
The broadcast will be available from 6 - 22 February 2008. Overseas audiences can register online here.

Amobee Powers Voda Italia TV Service

Vodafone Italia has selected Amobee Media Systems to offer ad-funded mobile video content to the operator’s 29.1 million customers. The service, called FreeVideo, enables Vodafone Italia UMTS users to access a wide range of high-quality, local and branded video content for free, in return for receiving relevant commercial messages from major brands. Two of the first brands to sign up to the service are the charity group ActionAid and the global media company RCS Media Group. 
Amobee is providing the centralised ad-server to seamlessly integrate relevant and dynamic commercial messages. The launch of the service follows recent similar deals with Vodafone in Spain, Greece and the Czech Republic, where the company is enabling ad-funded peer-to-peer SMS messages and games, as well as advertising on Vodafone Live!
Amobee and Vodafone Italia say they have brought together a best-of-breed set of partners to enable the launch of FreeVideo. QuickPlay Media, which specialises in the management and delivery of Mobile TV and video services, is powering streaming video content with its OpenVideo service delivery platform. QuickPlay is also enabling dynamic real-time stitching of ads provided by the Amobee platform and FreeVideo content.
Dada Ad, the ad agency business of community and entertainment services company Dada, is responsible for recruiting and managing the relationship with advertisers aiming to run rich-media, tactical campaigns on mobile. Dada Ad has been successfully selling mobile campaigns for Vodafone Italia since March 2007.
UMTS users with a video-enabled handset can opt-in to watch free news, sport, comedy and music clips from media brands such as e-Class, Dorna and Digital Magics. Amobee instantly processes the user’s profile and contextual information and selects a relevant pre-roll video ad, followed by the video content and then a post-roll ad.
“We’ve been rolling out new and exciting mobile advertising deals with Vodafone across Europe, says Amobee CEO, Zohar Levkovitz. “Vodafone Italy is the latest step in a very successful relationship. Ad-funded video services enable operators to develop a new revenue opportunity as brands make use of mobile as a channel to reach audiences. It also allows users to watch mobile video for free. Vodafone is really making great strides in maximising the potential of this.”

ROK Provides Turkish Delight

ROK Entertainment Group, the UK-based mobile technologies, applications and entertainment development company, has announced the launch of a service with Vodafone in Turkey for the provision of visual content direct to a user’s mobile phone. 
Vodafone-Turkey’s subscribers will be able to watch a range of live and on-demand content via the company’s mobile streaming service, ROK TV, which includes technology that maximizes deployment across 2.5G networks to provide a high frame-rate Mobile TV service. The weekly fee of approximately $4 (£2) is payable via SMS, with the first week’s viewing free of charge. Mobilturk is forecasting several thousand paid-for subscribers per month.
The service is offered to Vodafone’s customers in Turkey through ROK’s regional representative Mobilturk, Turkey’s largest mobile network operator, with whom the company entered an agreement in October 2007 for the introduction of the country's first commercial Mobile TV service.
“We are delighted to have joined Vodafone in offering mobile entertainment services to users in Turkey, which forms part of our strategy to make our content available to consumers globally,” says ROK CEO, Laurence Alexander. “This launch, in partnership with one of the world’s leading mobile network operators, demonstrates the premium offered by ROK’s technologies and services, and marks a significant stage in our growth and development.”

ROK Brings Ads to FreeBe TV

ROK Entertainment Group, the UK-based mobile technologies, applications and entertainment development company, has reached an agreement with Utarget Mobile, the video mobile advertising arm of Utarget Networks, for the purchase of pre-roll advertising to be broadcast on ROK’s FreeBe TV.
FreeBe TV is ROK’s free Mobile TV service, promoted as one of the original partners of Nokia’s Video Centre service. FreeBe TV for Nokia Video Center was launched in October 2007. The services is aimed at the growing number of mobile users who have GPRS data package included in their mobile phone tariff.
ROK notes that FreeBe TV is the world’s only free, mass-market, 2.5G streamed Mobile TV service and includes live streaming TV channels, allowing users to choose from Mixcast TV, Sports Bloopers, Celebrity TV, Studio 411, Xhaled Sports, Classic Commercials and Fun Little Movies.
Utarget is a leading UK online advertising network*. It offers a unique combination of high impact advertising formats, volume audience reach and precision targeting. Its success is based on delivering consistently high performing online advertising campaigns for major brands and direct response clients.
Utarget’s fully managed network covers more than 630 UK sites, reaching over 20 million users and a wide range of socio-demographic groups. Utarget specialises in online video advertising and, in June 2006, launched UtargetTV, the UK’s first online video advertising network which is now delivering more than 10 million video ads each month. Utarget Networks has an established German office and has now expanded into the French and Italian markets.
“We will be announcing the first sponsors for FreeBe TV before the end of the month,” says ROK CEO, Laurence Alexander. “And, with Nokia and Utarget, we look forward to growing the viewership of FreeBe TV into the millions across the globe”.

QuickPlay Launches Video Streaming for the Blackberry

QuickPlay Media, which specialises in Mobile TV and video solutions, has announced the launch of VideoStreams, which it says is the first free video streaming service for the BlackBerry (though network data charges may apply). The service features a variety of entertainment content, including music videos, comedy, horoscopes and extreme sports, and is available immediately to customers in the US and Canada.
VideoStreams is initially available on the BlackBerry Pearl  8130 Smartphone to subscribers on North American wireless carrier networks that support EVDO, such as Sprint Nextel, Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility and Alltel Wireless.  Eligible customers can visit www.videostreamsmobile.com using the BlackBerry browser to download the VideoStreams application over the air and start using the service right away.  Videos are streamed to the device, so there is no long wait to view the content, and unlike download services, no additional on-device storage is required. The service also includes a ‘Send to a friend’ feature that enables users to share video clips with friends and family. 
QuickPlay currently offers streaming audio services for BlackBerry Smartphones via QuickPlayer Audio, the first audio streaming service introduced for the BlackBerry platform. QuickPlay also offers a white-label video streaming solution for mobile operators that enables them to provide a custom, branded service to their customers with content from their partners, from QuickPlay partners, or from a combination of both. 
“The mobile market is exploding - with new applications, devices, and services introduced to the world each day - and RIM is a company at the forefront of this rapidly changing marketplace," says QuickPlay Media CEO and Co-founder, Wayne Purboo. “We are excited to continue our history of innovation by being the first to offer BlackBerry Smartphone customers free access to our high quality video services."
Jeff McDowell, Vice President, Global Alliances at Blackberry maker, Research In Motion, adds:
“BlackBerry Smartphones are attracting a wider range of mobile customers who want to use more personal applications and entertainment services. In turn, this trend is attracting a new class of developer partners, like QuickPlay, who are creating consumer and lifestyle applications that deliver new experiences for BlackBerry Smartphone users."
QuickPlay says that the VideoStreams service will be made available worldwide to more regions and mobile operators as additional BlackBerry Smartphones that support streaming video are rolled out on various wireless networks.

Partnership Offers Video Streaming

Mobile TV enabler Gorillabox and new media entertainment content aggregator TIM w.e., have announced a partnership to provide video streaming capabilities to mobile operators. Gorillabox and TIM w.e. will co-operate on a non-exclusive basis to deploy the Gorillabox video streaming platform (the “g-box platform”) and to retail video content. TIM w.e. manages content for mobile operators such as Telefonica, Vodafone and Tigo in almost 60 countries, and the agreement is global in scope.
The companies say that discussions are already underway with a number of operators in Europe and South America, who are seeking a carrier-grade mobile streaming capability and a range of live channels which can be easily deployed and are language-free.
“While our existing platform covered the basic requirements that operators were receiving from their consumers, we needed an advanced video streaming platform,” says Thomas Kothuis, Chief Commercial Officer at TIM w.e. “Gorillabox is the ideal partner for us with its g-box platform, through which the video streaming is powered. Gorillabox also allows the service provision to be tailored for each client and its demands accordingly, meaning we can cater for each customer individually and continue maintaining good relationships with our clients.”
Gorillabox and TIM w.e. will cooperate on all video streaming deployment and will also offer a range of video content.
“It’s a great opportunity for Gorillabox,” says Gorillabox CEO and Founder Christian Harris. “This partnership will provide us with lots of scale over a short timeframe, and working with TIM w.e. globally with many different operators will open up new avenues for us.”

ROK Around the Clock

TV channel Film24 has announced a content supply deal with ROK Entertainment Group, the UK-based mobile technologies, applications and entertainment company.
Film24’s fortnightly magazine show, ‘Film Extra’, is now available to ROK TV’s UK subscribers, along with other Film24 produced programming, as part of the service’s premium package. ROK’s Mobile TV service, with Film24’s programmes, will also launch in South Africa, and will be rolling out into Latin America and China later in 2008.   
“It is very much a part of our strategy to be a multi-platform operation and make it easier for film fans indulge their passion,” says Film24 Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Burns. “ROK Entertainment Group is very much one of the major players in the Mobile TV field. Adding ROK to the means by which Film24 meets its global audience is very exciting.”
ROK CEO Laurence Alexander adds:
“Having the best content available for mobile phones is equally as important as having the very best technologies to deliver and, that's why we're so excited to have teamed-up with Film24.”

Siano Chips In with Mobile TV Solution

Mobile TV chip maker Siano Mobile Silicon has announced the launch of a new family of Mobile Digital TV  receiver chips called the SMS1100, following successful field trials in Europe, Japan and Korea. According to Siano, the SMS1100 raises the bar in the Mobile TV industry with respect to receiver performance, richness of features, power consumption, and global coverage.
The SMS1100, a single receiver chip, supports the reception of ISDB-T TV signals, the broadcast standard of Brazil and Japan, in addition to Siano's existing portfolio of DVB-H, DVB-T, DAB, DAB-IP and T-DMB. Siano notes that it is the only Mobile TV chip maker that provides a global footprint of Mobile TV coverage on one single chip – including Russia, Western Europe, Korea, Japan, South East Asia, and Brazil, with further developments expected in China and the US.
Similar to Siano's previous generation, the new SMS1100 integrates both RF tuner and demodulator (baseband), and eliminates the need for any active external components. Another key feature is the chip’s “exceptionally high” mobility and sensitivity performance, which Siano says is unprecedented in the industry. By incorporating a new, patented, state-of-the-art channel estimation engine to the chip, Siano has raised the sensitivity and mobility performance to “unparalleled” industry levels. Field trials already conducted with the SMS1100 show that end users are able to watch Mobile TV in garages and other ‘deep-indoor’ locations, or while riding the world's fastest trains, such as France's TGV or Japan's Shinkansen (Bullet Train).
Siano has also broken its own world record in low power consumption, which impacts the battery life of the Mobile TV terminals. As an example, the SMS1100 consumes less than 165 milliwatts (tuner and baseband combined) when receiving High Definition TV (HDTV) over DVB-T broadcast – 70% less than competing solutions, which means many more hours of watching TV with no battery re-charge.
“2008 will witness the expansion of Mobile TV beyond Japan, Korea and Italy into most of Europe, South East Asia, China and Brazil,” says Siano CEO, Alon Ironi. “At the same time, DVB-T technology, already broadcast in over 40 countries worldwide, is now available on-the-go, with many HDTV channels set to be introduced. Whilst our previous SMS1000 chip family enabled the very first deployments of Mobile TV, the new SMS1100 will now make Mobile TV accessible everywhere, in crystal-clear quality. This product is the locomotive that will pull the entire industry and unleash the huge potential of the Mobile TV market." 
The SMS1100 family can be tailored for several different specific markets and applications. For example, the SMS1150 addresses global Mobile TV notebooks, with a high-speed USB 2.0 interface and full MRC diversity support, while the SMS1130 targets DVB-H mobile phones.
The SMS1100 is available in samples now, with mass-production later this quarter. All members of the SMS1100 family are delivered in the same BGA package, 6.2 x 6.5 x 1 mm in size, with 131 pins. Siano will demonstrate the SMS1100 at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, which runs from 7 – 10 January, on booth number 6538MP, LVCC, North Hall.

Red Bee Secures Endemol Brief

Red Bee Media has won a contract to repurpose Endemol UK’s content for new platforms through its Digital Hive technology. Content will be ingested once into Digital Hive and then can be easily repurposed for any platform, including mobile, the web, or tomorrow’s latest gadget.
Initially, Red Bee Media will digitise around 500 hours of Endemol UK’s archive. Metadata will be created for each show and stored digitally with the programmes. It will then be stored in Broadcast Centre in West London ready to be transcoded for any platform.   
Red Bee Media has created an online portal for Endemol UK so that it can edit metadata and stay in control of its content. The portal will also enable Endemol UK to view any of its programmes in Digital Hive as browse copies on PCs. This will help it to easily put together content bundles as it does deals with platform owners.
“There is lots of content out there sitting on tapes in archives rather than being watched and making money,” says Red Bee Media Head of Digital Media, Lucy Amortegui,. “Digital Hive makes it easy to make content available all over the world on broadband, IPTV and mobile TV services.”

Ofcom Releases L-Band Auction Details

Communications regulator Ofcom has published details of its plans to auction radio spectrum suitable for a range of services, including Mobile TV and satellite radio. A number of possible uses of the 1452 - 1492MHz band, the so-called ‘L-Band’, have been identified. These include mobile multimedia services, including Mobile TV which could be deployed using a variety of technologies; satellite digital radio; and broadband wireless access or high-speed Internet on the move. Ofcom expects the auction process, which will be held online, to start in spring 2008.
The spectrum will be released on a technology- and service-neutral basis, allowing users the flexibility to decide what technology to use, what services to offer, and to change their use of the spectrum over time. All licences will be tradable.
The release of the spectrum in the 1452 - 1492MHz band is part of a wider programme to release around 400MHz of spectrum at prime frequencies below 3GHz. Other awards in this programme include the digital dividend - the highly-valued spectrum that will be freed-up through the switch to digital television, plus Channel 36, which is within the television bands - and the 2.6GHz bands.
Ofcom says its objective is to promote the most efficient use of the UK's spectrum resource, benefiting consumers by providing access to new services, greater choice and competition. Ofcom's research has shown that the use of the radio spectrum contributes £37bn, equating to 3% of UK GDP.
“Ofcom is responsible for ensuring the most efficient use of the UK's finite spectrum resource,” says Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards. “This marks the start of our fifth spectrum auction process as we continue to release spectrum for the benefit of consumers and citizens."
To see the full statement on this spectrum auction, click here.

ROK Rolls Out in Africa

ROK Africa, a subsidiary of ROK Entertainment Group, the UK-based mobile technologies, applications and entertainment company, has signed an agreement with FoneWorx, a telecommunications service provider to distribute mobile technologies and services to mobile operators across Africa. Over the next six months, FoneWorx will roll out ROK mobile technologies and services to 30 mobile operators across Africa.
The process will begin with the distribution in East Africa of ROK TV, a mobile streaming service where the consumer can watch a range of live or on-demand content streamed to their mobile handset. This will be followed by the addition of Fonepark, a dynamic Internet and WAP site generator that allow a user to create their own mobile content sales site, in 13 other countries including Nigeria, Angola, Zambia, Namibia and Mozambique, where there are around 70 million mobile users. The service will also be made available to public broadcasters.
Under the terms of the agreement, ROK and FoneWorx will share the revenue earned from the distribution. The proposed pricing is Rand 10 (£0.73) for a single download that includes both channels, with subsequent channels being charged at a rate of R3.50 per week. It is expected that the operators’ billing retention will equate to approximately half of these costs. The service will assume the name FoneWorx TV.
“The deployment of ROK’s mobile applications into Africa has been a key goal, and FoneWorx have a truly pan-African reach into dozens of mobile phone operators across the continent,” says ROK CEO, Laurence Alexander. “We are looking forward to subsequently rolling-out a number of other unique ROK applications in addition to Mobile TV.”
FoneWork Operations Director Robert Russell says the company is delighted to have partnered with ROK. He says:
“ROK technologies have proved to be best of breed in the streaming of high quality video over mass-market 2.5G networks, which results in a much more positive user experience than ever before.”

Mobile TV Under the Spotlight

Screen Digest has released its report, ‘Mobile TV: Business Models and Opportunities’, which examines the market for Mobile TV in 25 countries worldwide, including Europe, the US and Asia. Screen Digest says the analysis provides two perspectives on the market: one from the TV industry and the other from the mobile content industry. According to the report, there are a myriad of issues for mobile operators, broadcasters and content owners to address if they are to make a profit from increasing customer demand for Mobile TV services.
There are two delivery methods for Mobile TV, the report notes: Broadcast and Unicast. Throughout the report, figures are provided for both in each of the three main regions, Asia, Europe and North America. The Broadcast market is expected to experience rapid growth, with the number of markets offering the service tripling in the next two years to stand at 18 by the end of 2008. In the last two years, new services have been launched in Italy, the UK, Germany, the US and Japan. Screen Digest believes that Broadcast will become the most prevalent method to deliver TV to mobiles, with the more niche approach offered by Unicast complementing it with premium and added-value services.
Subscriber numbers are set to increase dramatically, the report reveals, particularly in Europe and N. America. There are currently more than 15 million subscribers to Mobile TV in Asia, where the majority of broadcast networks are offered free-to-air. Italy has 850,000 paying subscribers, and France has more than half a million subscribers to Unicast services. Screen Digest predicts significant growth in subscriber numbers globally, with 140 million subscribers and revenues of €4.4 billion by 2011. North America will experience the biggest increase, growing its subscriber base 20 fold to 28.8 million and revenues as much as 50 fold to €1.8 billion by 2011.
However, the report points out, subscriber numbers do not equate to revenue. Despite its large subscriber numbers and longevity of Mobile TV services, Screen Digest believes that by 2011, the Asian market will generate less revenue than Europe and the US. Europe will lead with a 42.5% share of global revenues, followed by the US at 40.5% and Asia accounting for the remaining 17%.
Screen Digest analysis reveals that in the short term, network operators don’t stand to make much profit from offering Mobile TV services – yet they must offer them in order to remain competitive. Operators who do not offer Mobile TV will simply lose their subscribers to other operators or other media devices, such as the in-car devices so popular in Asia. The lion’s share of the income from offering Mobile TV services will be shared between the handset manufacturers, software companies, content creators and network owners. However, the experience in Italy shows that there is an opportunity for mobile network operators to upgrade pay-as-you-go customers to contracts in order to access the rich content. By doing this, operators can enjoy up as much as three times the revenue per unit, without increasing the already-saturated subscriber base.
Ronan de Renesse, author of the report, believes that while Mobile TV will attract more and more viewers in the immediate term, significant revenues for mobile operators, broadcasters and content owners won't be enjoyed until 2011.
“The free-to-air services are the success stories for subscriber uptake, yet business models for mobile pay-TV are still to be proven,” he notes. “Content owners and handset manufacturers can gain in the short term with incremental revenues through a different distribution channel or by selling more expensive handsets. While Mobile TV may not generate significant revenues for operators over the next four years, bundling to move subscribers to contract will. The operators not investing now in Mobile TV risk losing out when the subscriber base finally becomes established enough to generate revenues through pay-TV models and advertising."
To find out more about the report, or to order a copy, email sales@screendigest.com

ROK Acquires Fun Little Movies

ROK Entertainment Group, the UK-based mobile technologies, applications and entertainment development company, has acquired a 51% controlling interest in Los Angeles-based Fun Little Movies (FLM) for a combination of cash and shares in the company. Under the terms of the agreement, ROK and FLM will jointly offer made-for-mobile content, such as comedy short films, to network operators worldwide.
FLM specializes in the development, production and distribution of original mobile-oriented comedy for global distribution. In its nomination for Best Video Producer at the 2007 ME Awards, Mobile Entertainment Magazine said FLM “pioneered the advertiser-funded concept” for mobile video.
“ROK’s management team gets it,” says said Frank Chindamo, FLM President and Chief Creative Officer. “They see the same potential for the mobile space that we do.We are excited about the new synergies created by joining with a company that understands ‘synergy’ the way we do.” 
In addition to his role at FLM, which he founded in 2004, Chindamo is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California, teaching Mobile and Internet Viral Screenwriting and Producing.
“We love what Frank Chindamo and his team at FLM have been doing in the mobile entertainment space,” says Laurence Alexander, President and Chief Executive Officer of ROK.” They really understand the medium and what people want from mobile movies. We look forward to expanding the footprint of FLM content worldwide and going forward to develop a whole new portfolio.”
FLM has distribution deals in place with Sprint, Verizon and ATT, as well as several handset makers and overseas partners, from China and Japan to Europe, Africa and South America.  ROK will be its primary distributor worldwide.
In addition to marketing ROK TV through mobile operators such as Vodacom South Africa, Avea Turkey, Telenor Pakistan and AIS in Thailand, ROK’s service is also available direct-to-consumers via Nokia Downloads on the Nokia Eseries handsets across Europe.

'Celebrity' Brief for Mobstar

ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’ reality show, which started earlier this week, has a new presenter. Named Wayne and standing around 3 inches tall, the wind breaking, belching, foul-mouthed witchetty grub is the 3D animated creation of Mobstar Media and will host ITV Mobile’s coverage of the award-winning show. Wayne will also feature within the main ITV 1 programme during break-bumpers and during the closing credits. 
Wayne is the straight-talking Aussie ‘Grub on the Ground’ with all the best and most salacious celebrity gossip from the camp. Wayne will also front a full slate of ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here!’ mobile content, including clips, screensavers, wallpapers and ring tones, created by Mobstar Media for ITV Mobile.
“It’s been great fun working on Wayne,” says Mobstar Media MD, Jamie Goldblatt. “This is just another example of how Mobstar Media can add value to mobile. As far as we know, Wayne is first ever presenter to cross over between mobile and terrestrial TV and we’re proud to be working with ITV Mobile to push back the boundaries of mobile entertainment.”
The new series of “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!” runs on ITV 1 until 30 November.

ROK Goes Public

ROK Entertainment Group has completed its share exchange transaction with Cyberfund, Inc., a US public company. The combined company will operate initially under the name of Cyberfund and will continue to be listed on the NASD’s Over-the-Counter (OTC) Bulletin Board under the trading symbol, CYFD. On listing, the cCompany will have a total of 49,956,161 common shares outstanding.
Currently, ROK operates under the Companies Law of England and Wales. It is the intention of Cyberfund to reincorporate in the state of Delaware and change its corporate name to ROK Entertainment Group, Inc., upon necessary stockholder approval. In connection with the name change, the company will also obtain a new ticker symbol for quotation on the OTC Bulletin Board.
In the transaction, Cyberfund acquired substantially all of the outstanding ordinary shares of ROK through a share exchange. In the share exchange, substantially all of the shareholders of ROK tendered their shares of ROK in exchange for shares of the publicly-traded Cyberfund. In consideration of the shares of ROK, Cyberfund issued shares of its common stock to the shareholders of ROK, representing approximately 92% of its outstanding shares. As a result of the share exchange, Cyberfund owns substantially all of the outstanding shares of ROK, and ROK will be a subsidiary of Cyberfund and continue the existing operations of ROK as a publicly-traded company.
Following the share exchange, ROK’s existing management assumed their same positions with the publicly-traded company.
Speaking exclusively to Mobile Marketing, ROK CEO Laurence Alexander said:
"This deal means that we are now a billion dollar company. It gives us a war chest that will enable us to roll out and implement more quickly and acquire content and application companies. You can expect to see the first deal within the next 24 hours."
It is the intention of the Board to carry on ROK’s business as the company’s sole line of business. ROK was founded in May 2004 with the intention to design and develop the technology required to deliver audio-visual content to mobile phones. The company has offices in the United Kingdom, the US and China, as well as joint ventures in Russia and Brazil.
According to Wireless Intelligence, a collaboration between research firm Ovum and the GSM Association, the number of mobile phone users worldwide reached 2.5 billion subscribers in September 2006, and is expected to exceed 3 billion by 2008. The company’s products and services are targeted to this large and growing mobile phone user market.
ROK currently has three registered patents and 42 additional patent applications pending for new technologies which it has developed for the delivery of video entertainment to mobile phones. The technologies facilitate delivery of services, including, on-demand Mobile TV streamed over mass-market 2.5G via GPRS, the storage of copy-protected movies stored on memory cards for play on mobile phones, Java, SMS and P2P games,  place-shifting to mobile devices and VoIP mobile calling.
The company plans to continue the roll-out of its products worldwide and maintain its investment in research and development to improve current products, and increase compatibility and user features, as well as work on new technologies and products.
A focus on technology exposes the business to risks of technological change. Wioth this in mind, ROK says it is now actively acquiring, creating and aggregating content and services to deliver across the rapidly expanding network of content distribution.
The company has a number of operational deployments as of the end of October 2007, including ROK TV with AIS (Thailand), Telenor (Pakistan), BSNL (India), Avea (Turkey) and Vodacom (South Africa), as well as ROK’s Mobile TV service marketed direct to consumers. ROK Media has deployed a variety of innovative mobile entertainment applications to include ANSA, ROK Comics and Fonepark in the UK, the  US, China, Pakistan and Russia.
ROK New Net in China is providing lottery services and selling lottery tickets for the Beijing Welfare Lottery, as well as a number of other mobile value-added telecommunications service operators.
Before the end of the second quarter of 2008, ROK aims to achieve a significant global reach in mobile television through its FreeBe TV and ROK TV services, and is also seeking to expand the cmpany’s product portfolio and breadth of commercial deployment of these services through cross-sales of products and services, via its existing and growing partner distribution network which includes mobile operators and handset manufacturers.

Mobile TV Study Finds Low Levels of Interest

A new report in to Mobile TV has revealed low levels of interest, with just 1% of participants in the study using it in the past 12 months and only 3% saying they were likely to try it in the next year.
The figures are contained in Continental Research’s Autumn 2007 'Mobile Report'. Mobile phone owners were asked whether they would prefer to have an ad-free package that required a relatively high subscription fee for the TV service, or have a free service that would have a considerable amount of advertising within the programming, or somewhere in between. Over half (53%) didn’t express an opinion. The most popular choice was the completely free option, favoured by over a quarter (27%). Only 4% favoured a higher subscription fee with no advertising.
“To promote take-up of Mobile TV, networks should consider advertiser-funded content to enable customers to access the service (at least initially) for no fee at all,” says Report author Tim Barber. “This would encourage people to sign up to the service and download the necessary software or settings to their handsets, so that if paid-for services are subsequently introduced handsets will already be ready technically to use the service.
“It would also persuade some people who otherwise wouldn’t even try the service to take and possibly keep with it even if it moves to a fee-based model. The actual airtime required to receive the signal should also be free or of minimal cost, with users able to use any free or inclusive airtime minutes that are included as part of their standard package.”
The ability to watch selected TV services via mobile phone has been around for over two years, and has been the focus of significant marketing efforts by the networks, the report notes. This lack of consumer interest shows that paid-for Mobile TV services are unlikely to provide a significant income stream for the networks in the immediate future.
The report adds that there remain substantial barriers to overcome if Mobile TV is to be a widespread success. Although mobile phone screens continue to grow in size, they are always going to be limited due to the desire to keep most mobile phones as small and as compact a possible. This naturally limits the type of TV content suitable for mobiles. Over half of existing Mobile TV users said they were dissatisfied with the size of the picture, although two-thirds were satisfied with the picture quality. News, sporting clips and music videos are much more likely to appeal than big budget movies or wildlife documentaries, where visual impact is crucial to the appeal of the programme.
This is reflected by the types of content most mentioned as appealing by those likely to watch Mobile TV over the next year. The most popular type of content was news (mentioned by 53%), followed by music videos (47%), then comedies (38%). The types of programming of least interest to mobile owners were soap operas (19%). Potential users were also asked if they would be interested in very short dramas of around 3-5 minutes that would be made especially for mobile phones; just 16% said they would be. However, this low score would have been influenced by the fact that it is a new form of programming that users would not be familiar with, the report notes.
Another significant barrier to the widespread take up of Mobile TV, the report says,  is that a 3G signal is required to receive the transmissions (though ROK would have some issues with this finding – Ed). The quality and strength of the signal can be inconsistent, meaning that TV reception can cut out in the middle of a program or cannot be received at all. This particularly impacts upon what could be key opportunities for using Mobile TV, such as when travelling by coach or train, when interference from the vehicle and varying signal quality as the user travels around could affect their viewing experience.
Nearly half of existing users were dissatisfied with the geographical coverage of the service. Another issue affecting take-up is the technical difficulties experienced by those that actually do try to use the service. If those that do initially attempt to use the service experience difficulties, they are likely to generate poor word-of-mouth putting off other potential users, further contributing to slow take-up of the service. This will also have a knock-on effect and put off customers from trying out any future services the networks introduce.
Barber concludes:
“As with most new mobile phone features, the younger age groups, particularly 16-24s,  are the key markets, with just under one in ten (9%) of this age-group stating they are likely to use Mobile TV in next year, so there is a potential market for it. There will be certain barriers that the networks and handset manufacturers are unlikely to be able to overcome, such as screen size, but if they deal with issues such as reception, ensuring the service works properly for those that do sign up for it, and continue to target the younger age groups that are most receptive to this service, then we may see more significant growth in the forthcoming year.”

ROK TV Launches in India

ROK Entertainment Group, the UK-based specialist mobile applications developer, has launched its first streamed Mobile TV deployment in India through local operator BSNL.
Offering an initial portfolio of six channels, including the English Music Channel (EMN), a Hindi music channel (Geet), an entertainment channel (Bindaas), a Bollywood channel (Zoom), a live Hindi news channel, plus a regional offering for each zone from ETV networks for a monthly fee of INR 150 (approximately £1.90), the BSNL Mobile TV service goes under the name of ‘Tiny TV’.
“We're delighted to be working with BSNL on the delivery of mass-market mobile TV in India" says ROK CEO, Laurence Alexander. “We all recognise India to be such a dynamic and fast-growing mobile market." 
ROK TV technologies allow video to stream to mobiles at up to 14 frames per second over 2.5G via GPRS and up to 24 frames per second over 3G and wi-fi. ROK is in the midst of deploying 30 white-label versions of its streamed Mobile TV service worldwide and, in May this year, agreed to be acquired by US publicly-listed company CyberFund in a Share Exchange Agreement.

Dialogue Deployed Down Under

Mobile specialist Dialogue Communications has announced a major deal with Vodafone Australia for its MMS solution. Dialogue’s technology is being deployed by Vodafone to bring the first interactive ‘made-for-mobile’ show, Street TV, to the company’s 3G customers in Australia.
Street TV is a 3G made-for-mobile, 30-minute weekly TV show available 24/7 on Vodafone live! The service involves compressing and sending out Mobile TV video clips of up to 30 seconds in length to customers that have opted in to receive mobile advertising messages. Dialogue’s technical solution allows Vodafone to deliver a media rich MMS, including a call to action to download that week’s free ‘full track music download’ (FTMD), as well as a clickthrough to the Street TV WAP Portal.
The technique, which has been pioneered by the Australian arm of the business, based in Sydney, in conjunction with Vodafone Australia, recently won an MMA Award for Consumer Content Offering. 
“This is an innovative use of MMS which has really paid off,” says David Green, Head of Vodafone Mobile Advertising. “We have seen Mobile TV usage surge following the broadcast of these messages. As well as showing catch-up or preview footage, these video clips can also include messages from advertisers and sponsors, making this an important revenue stream. Having seen the success of this service on Street TV, we are now getting calls from other suppliers of Mobile TV shows that are keen to increase their viewer numbers.”
Dialogue says it has also received interest from a range of other parties, including  estate agents that want to send out multimedia broadcasts of property details, as well as political parties that are keen to send out short speeches.
“One of the benefits of MMS is that there is no confusion about data charges” says Dialogue CEO, Hugh Spears. “Consumers can incur quite high charges for downloading images and music from the mobile Internet, but with MMS everything is delivered to the phone without any cost to the end user.”

Red Dwarf Goes Mobile

Fans of the international, award winning, cult sci-fi comedy series ‘Red Dwarf’, will soon be able to watch exclusively-created mobisodes of the show on their mobile phone via Pitch, the international mobile entertainment company. Animated episodes made up from classic moments in the show, which has just been named Top Science Fiction and Fantasy Show of all time by the Radio Times, will be available from tomorrow on a weekly basis. “Pitch Entertainment has created amazing, ground breaking technology that gives our fans the chance to access and enjoy Red Dwarf whilst on the move,” says Charles Armitage, Chief Executive of Noel Gay Entertainment Group, which makes Red Dwarf. “The weekly animated mobisodes, the social networking functionality and the exclusive content will enhance the Red Dwarf experience for everyone."
Pitch is available to mobile users in 13 territories, as far-flung as Malaysia and Singapore, as well as across Europe, with plans to launch a new territory every month over the next year. Red Dwarf is now approaching its 20th anniversary as an international success story, seen in over 35 countries, with DVD sales approaching 4 million units.
Pitch Chief Executive Martin Bowley adds:
“Red Dwarf is iconic, with millions of die-hard fans across the world. Combining such comic genius with the latest in mobile entertainment technology creates an exciting and dynamic environment that will move the cult of Red Dwarf into another dimension. Established fans can access new episodes, interact with each other and share their passions for Red Dwarf, whilst a new generation of fans will also be able to discover Red Dwarf for the first time. This is the future of entertainment."
For £3 a week, subscribers will receive a brand new Red Dwarf animated mobisode and access to a virtual social network, where they can chat, upload and rate their pictures and  videos. Subscribers can also choose six enhanced mobile features for their phone each week, including specially created Red Dwarf ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers and videos.
Subscribers can receive the brand new Red Dwarf mobisode each week by visiting www.red-dwarf.mobi on their handset, or by texting RD1 to 87000.

Enter the Gorillabox

UK company Gorillabox has launched a “fully managed Mobile TV enabler” of the same name, which promises to stream video content to any mobile handset, anywhere in Europe and the US. Central to the Gorillabox proposition is a fixed-fee commercial model, which the company says is unique, and will allow network operators, content owners, brand owners and ad agencies to take advantage of the benefits of Mobile TV, without the hidden costs of the traditional revenue sharing model.
Gorillabox’s core offering is streaming video content to mobile handsets anywhere in Europe and the US on any scale. In addition, the company will also offers search optimisation, advertising, downloads, WAP design and development and consultancy on how to build successful services.
“There’s been a lot of hype around Mobile TV” says Gorillabox Founder and CEO, Christian Harris. “We’re looking to cut through that hype and show brands, content owners and mobile operators that mobile TV also makes commercial sense. As well as enabling brands to engage more directly with their customers, we’re going to show marketers there’s money in Mobile TV. Because of our agreements with UK operators, we’ll guarantee to pass on all the revenue to our clients so they can easily track the effectiveness of their Mobile TV marketing campaigns. As Gorillabox only works with available technology our hold on the audience is huge, with over 100 million handsets in the EU and the US that can consume our streaming content now.”
Gorillabox says it will also offer its clients either an ‘à la carte’ menu of Mobile TV services, or the ability to use Gorillabox as a full turnkey provider to plan, execute, manage and track their Mobile TV campaigns. This includes everything from ingesting and encoding the content, designing, deploying and maintaining the mobile site through to managing the billing, optimising the site for search and offering advertising opportunities within the site.
“Unlike other many other providers we’ll also be able to replicate the Mobile TV campaigns anywhere in Europe or the US,” adds Harris.
More information here.

Drum&bassArena in Mobcast First

Drum&bass web portal Drum&BassArena is to stream its 11th Birthday Party at the Ministry of Sound club in London tonight direct to mobile. The company says the event will be the first club event to be broadcast live to mobile.
The live broadcast will be a Real Video Helix 100k video stream, featuring a 3-camera mix, starting at 11pm BST and running until 6am BST. There will also be an online chat-room, enabling drum&bass fans to interact with the night.
The main room will be broadcast on the night, featuring DJs: Grooverider, Andy C, Clipz, Mampi Swift, Doc Scott & Storm, plus the exclusive album launch set from TC Evolution, which is drum&bass’s premiere live band with three singers, drummer and keyboard player.
Drum&BassArena boss Del Dias says the event will be the first of many mobcasts.
“Mobile is a very important format for us, and we see mobcasts being as strategically important to us in the future as webcasts,” says Dias. “It’s early days for this type of thing, but people said we were mad when we started doing webcasts in 1997 and now everyone’s talking about IPTV.”
Anyone wishing to tune in should text STREAM to 81330. The mobcast can be enjoyed on any phone that supports 3GP streaming.

ROK and CNN Added to Nseries Video Line-up

Nokia has added a range of new content partners to the Nokia Video Center. The Nokia Video Center offers Nokia Nseries users one simple place to discover and access the best choice of mobile video content via 3G, wi-fi or PC. Users can switch easily between a range of different video services, choosing from branded on-demand video, Internet video podcasts and their own favorite videos. The Nokia Video Center is available on the Nokia N95 and Nokia N95 8GB.
The new partners include global news network CNN; IBN News, the English news channel in India, which will be available exclusively in the Asia Pacific region; Jamba; ROK’s FreeBeTV; RooftopComedy; Sony Pictures Entertainment;and Versaly Entertainment’s male lifestyle channel, FAST LANE. The new partners join existing partners, YouTube and Reuters.
“The new partnerships expand the scope of quality mobile videos available to Nseries device owners,” says Harri Männistö, Director of Multimedia at Nokia. “Consumer desire to watch Internet videos on mobile devices is growing all the time and we want to help users discover and access the best content in the simplest way possible.”

ROK in Ad-funded Network Move

ROK Mobile is set to enter the ad-funded MVNO market with a take-over of US-based Xero Mobile.  Mobile Marketing Magazine can reveal that ROK is in formal and exclusive take-over talks with the company, with the deal expected to be completed within the next two weeks. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
Xero Mobile is targeted at the 17.5 million-strong US campus student community. The company plans to hand out Bluetooth- and wi-fi-enabled handsets to students, who will receive free airtime in return for watching four 20-30 second video ads on their handset each day. ROK Mobile Marketing Director Bruce Renny says ROK is primarily interested in the company for its ad-serving and ad-tracking technology.
“The ad-tracking technology is revolutionary” says Renny. “It requires the user to click on the ad, which acknowledges that they have seen it and thus allows them to make free calls, so it is wholly trackable. It takes mobile advertising from passive receipt to proper engagement.”
If the deal goes through, Renny says that ROK will look to launch ad-funded MVNOs both in the US and beyond.
“This is not just about free calls” says Renny. “It’s about the combination of free airtime, free video content streamed over existing networks, and ROK’s clever data compression technologies. Taken together, this would present a world-beating free MVNO service.”

UK Debut for SlingPlayer Mobile

Sling Media has announced that its award-winning SlingPlayer Mobile software is now available in the UK for select Nokia Nseries and Eseries devices, running S60 3rd edition software on the Symbian OS. SlingPlayer Mobile gives Slingbox owners the ability to watch and control their home TV from a network-connected mobile phone.
“Customers have been calling for this software from the time we first announced support for the Symbian OS last autumn and I am thrilled to be making it available on more devices and more networks with today's announcement," says Blake Krikorian, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Sling Media. “SlingPlayer Mobile really enhances the overall mobile experience. People love their living room TV programming and simply want the ability to watch it on any device wherever they happen to be."
SlingPlayer Mobile gives consumers their entire home TV experience, including local channels, local sports teams, video on demand and pay per view. Any programme that you can watch on your sofa back home, you can now watch via a PC, Mac, Palm OS, Symbian or Windows Mobile-based device via Internet connections worldwide. In addition, SlingPlayer Mobile users can also control their home digital video recorder to watch recorded shows, pause, rewind and fast forward live TV, or even program new recordings while on the road.
The enhanced, personalised Mobile TV experience is enabled by Sling Media's breakthrough product, the Slingbox. The Slingbox redirects, or “placeshifts” live or recorded TV from an analogue or digital cable box, satellite receiver, Freeview box, digital video recorder or DVD player ,to the viewer's 3G or wi-fi-enabled handset or laptop, located anywhere in the world.
“SlingPlayer Mobile is a marvel of innovation, and really comes to life on Symbian OS, which has been engineered to deliver the very best in mobile multimedia experiences," says Jerry Panagrossi, Vice President of US operations for Symbian. “This new release of SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian Smartphones brings compelling new data revenue opportunities to operators, and a feature-rich service to consumers looking for convenient access to their home TV channel surfing, programming and viewing experience."
Sling Media is making this version of SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS available to customers in the UK, US and Canada on a select number of Nokia handsets at launch, and plans to extend support for additional handsets in the near future. The retail price of the application is £19.99. You can download the application, and see a list of supported handsets, here.

Speedy Switching for DVB-H

Axel Technologies, which provides multimedia middleware for mobile devices, and Siano Mobile Silicon,  which supplies semiconductor solutions for Mobile Digital TV, have announced a comprehensive platform for DVB-H terminals, with record-fast channel switching time of less than two seconds. The platform is being demoed in a mobile phone at the Informa DVB-H conference in London which runs today and tomorrow.
The companies feature a comprehensive, highly optimized DVB-H solution, compliant with the MBRAI 2.0 specifications, based on Siano's SMS1010 integrated mobile TV receiver chip, and Axel's Salmonstream DVB-H middleware. Among other features, the joint offering obtains the industry's fastest channel switching time, of two seconds.
The solution is targeting DVB-H enabled cellular phones, Smartphones, laptops, PDAs, pocket TVs, PMPs and GPS systems. DVB-H is already commercially deployed in Italy and is expected to be further deployed in additional countries within the next 9-12 months, including Germany, France, The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, and more.
“The combination of Salmonstream, Axel’s leading DVB-H middleware and the SMS1010, Siano’s integrated receiver chip has enabled us to offer a fully optimized DVB-H solution, which achieves an unprecedented channel switching time,” says Axel CEO, Petri Kalske. “We are working very closely with Siano to provide our customers cutting edge technology, that will result with the most enjoyable and innovative user experience for DVB-H consumers.”
Siano Mobile Silicon CEO Alon Ironi adds:
“By integrating the fastest DVB-H receiver in the market with the most compact, efficient DVB-H middleware, we were able to obtain the industry's fastest channel switching time. At the same time, we have provided evidence that the commonly believed myth about DVB-H being slower than FLO is no longer relevant, and proved that the two technologies are practically equivalent."
Ironi says that Siano and its partners are focused on perfecting the DVB-H offering so as to enable their customers to introduce devices that people will love to use.
“The idea of Mobile TV is to take the experience of watching TV at the living room out to the street, and onto the end user's palm” he says. “This means crystal-clear, multiple-channel, real-time audio and video experience packaged into an easy-to-use application, and this is exactly what Axel and Siano offer."

Smoother Operators

Industria, which provides broadband TV and entertainment solutions, and Ikivo, which develops open-standard, SVG-b