Supplier's Voice: Mobile TV Delivers Fourth Screen to End Users, Revenue Streams to Operators
                                                                                                    By Angel Ruiz

In the early 1980s, “I want my MTV” became a rallying cry for millions of consumers longing for access to the hottest thing to happen to television since the color screen. Today, early adopters are voicing this demand once again, but instead of music television, it’s mobile digital television they’re after. Once again, TV will never be viewed in quite the same way.

In fact, the very concept of TV as a push broadcast medium is changing at a rapid pace. Individuality and interactivity are the watchwords of digital media as consumers want options for when, where, what, and even how they view content. Mobile TV answers this demand as telecom technologyhas made it possible to change a television audience from sedentary to mobile and from passive to active, enabling a richer viewing experience.

Mobile TV will not supplant traditional entertainment outlets, but it will enhance them. Think of this burgeoning technologyas the fourth screen: First there was the movie screen, then the TV screen, then the PC screen, and now, the display on your mobile phone. In terms of technical evolution, it was the next logical step for this medium, and it’s a reality today.

Unicast has been the enabling technology to date, streaming multimedia over 2G and 3G mobile networks. But a host of mobile operators are already deploying mobile TV services in the form of live broadcasted and on-demand TV shows for mobile screens. And Ericsson recently conducted a six-week trial with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) for interactive mobile TV, allowing viewers to vote for — coincidentally — music videos on a popular television program.

The results of the Norwegian broadcasting trial showed that the interactive component of the viewing experience extended viewing time by twice that of a regular mobile broadcast. This outcome confirmed research conducted by Ericsson’s Consumer Labs, which found that end users responded that interactivity would make mobile TV more enjoyable. Additional research showed that consumers found mobile TV to be useful and fun, enabling them to be flexible in their viewing habits and allowing them to personalize content and settings.

The Ericsson studies also revealed how and when consumers will use this fourth screen. Drivers for usage were both situation based and content-based, meaning that mobile TV was seen as an attractive option for “killing time” or for a specific reason,such as watching a live event or must-see show, viewing special content, or witnessing live event that might otherwise be missed. Average viewing time was 30 minutes a month with an average viewing length of three to five minutes. Peak usage times were during morning and evening rush hours and lunch time, but prime time also saw a spike.

 

 


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