Movies, TV and Video for Mobile

Panel:
Ralph Simon - moderator, Mobile Entertainment Forum

Frank Chindamo - Fun Little Movies (USC teaching, short-form 5-minute movies) - Rock Entertainment just acquired them (custom video codec?)
Douglas Craig - Discovery Communications (3 products: streaming mobile channel on MobiTV/Sprint, B2B style clips with partners, WAP site)
Lisa Hsia - VP New Media, Bravo/NBC Universal (wireless piece: Project Runway, IronChef - WAP sites, MMS clubs, mobile games - text to Buy thing if can get carriers, social networking thing)
David Lang - Mindshare Entertainment
John Najarian - SVP New Media, Comcast Entertainment Group, LA-based (E, Style and G4 new media - VOD, podcasting, wireless, WAP - text alerts, games, apps... ex. E -18-49 demo focus, affluent, female skewed)
Dave Ulmer - Motorola (entertainment applications - how to expand user-generated content, shipped Bourne Identity with handsets in EU on card - live mobile video transmission from mobile handset)


Notes:

major media groups and channels harnessing mobile for revenue and audience reach

Moto: UGC /- goofy content on YouTube... look at what we;'re watching on TV now... Reality TV, etc.

"Gill O'Riley" parody - Fun LIttle Movies
serials

from "Rock", ANSA - text question to service, send back a good human answer to question

Discovery > slices of content, personalization? revenue generating additionals? > fish where the fish are (produce around popular shows, expand) - shout differently, graphics size differs
produce once, publish everywhere mantra, thin margins on emerging platforms
More of a promotional vehicle rather than revenue-generating

Animal Planet example - "pet finder" works small, linked to big station: website for finding adoptable pets, working on mobile extension, directed to local animal shelters
TLC - "TakeHome Chef" - WAP shopping lists to phone

How to move from promotional vehicle to revenue-generating vehicle??

mobile video usage is tiny, SMS is broadly used

TV Channels look at mobile as part of larger strategy
Mobile fan club with sponsorship (in 6 figures...) - 75-85% engagement!! (sponsored by Lauriall)
Top chef - Bravo successful show - etc.
2008 - set up $500k of mobile program sponsorships

Comcast - text alerts, ad supported, pushed on air and online, read on E-Online, "E News Now" video product online and mobile
minute-long story news break, 12 per day... Brittany Spears, good for business.
Mobile - news has GOT TO BE NOW, not at 6 and 10 - Realtime expectations

As a matter of course, must have cross-channel thinking

Moto, Dave Ulmer - mobile is being used as an extension... brand and value
Transition year 2008 - like switch from Radio to TV

WiFi and WiMAX will change everything soon

for Moto, multimedia is a primary focus these days > WiFi and WiMAX are coming
carriers will realize how to make money even on networks that they don't own

mobile is intensely personal (when's the last time you handed it to someone and said 'you use it'?)

MyStyle.com (Style channel extension) - extending with WAP as well, allow user to provide info back to network
For Comcst/E/Style - the mobile-originals do't work as well and the traditional-show tie-ins

Discovery - "How Stuff Works" - WAP version: lookups, fact of day, etc.

Automated tools to create mobile versions of shows?
> StarCut - in Helsinki - offers a tool
> WDA - Wireless Development Agency

AT&T, Sprint, Verizon - carriers all have different video models

data rates in US are lagging, but catching up via WiMax, behind Asia

Motorola - building handsets that support DVB-H (even non-handset portable TV)
Verizon, AT&T launching the MediaFlo product...

mobile licensing is an issue, writers' strike impact