BRANDING UNBOUND

Hollywood@Hand: What Does William Morris, Accel Partners, Venrock & AT&T Deal Mean To Mobile Content?

Hooray for Hollywood.

One of its most legendary talent agencies, a couple of powerhouse venture capitalist firms, and the nation's largest mobile carriers have teamed up to figure out just what to make of the mobile medium.

What will it mean to mobile content (and advertising)? Probably not as much as these parties might hope.

In BRANDING UNBOUND the book, I look at how a number of Hollywood studios - Warner Bros., Sony, NBC Universal and many others - have been making the most of the mobile medium.

But this new alliance between the venerable William Morris Agency, venture capitalist firms Accel Partners and Venrock, and mobile carrier AT&T is as much about threats than opportunities.

As today's New York Times puts it, the real impetus for these partners' new investment funds may be fear from Hollywood and the carriers that upstarts and other interlopers could upend their content plans - plans that didn't work well on the wireline Internet, and probably aren't that compelling on the mobile one, either.

According to the Times, AT&T's not really look at this for mobile content. Instead, it's on the hunt for new technologies "that will make it easier to run ads on cellphones, as well as to nurture social networks like Facebook and MySpace, online hits that have migrated to hand-held devices."

Let's hope so. AT&T along could sink any compelling new content offerings. Not that there's anything wrong with AT&T, but it's essentially like a Hollywood studio teaming up with a cable company to find content that can thrive outside of its walled garden. Ain't going to happen - at least not well.

Still, the Times narrative is along the lines of "Hollywood has never understood technology, and technology companies have never understood Hollywood."

Nothing could be further from the truth, of course.

Hollywood was among the first to truly monetize many new media forms, from film (silent to the talkies to Technicolor and beyond) to radio to television.

What it hasn't been so good at is the Internet, and, more recently, mobile. Open platforms anyone can use as they wish.

AT&T's maybe not the best partner to try to figure that one out.

Then again, for all these players - AT&T especially - what alternative do they have?

Read all about it, here (sub. req.).

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MobiTV Releases Mobile Television Advertising & Viewership Data

MobiTV is on the move.

The Emeryville, Calif.-based company released its mobile television advertising and viewership data today.

As it stands now, there are more than 60 million handsets enabled with the MobiTV service in the U.S. market and three million plus subscriptions.

According to recent interactive tests,  users of the MobiTV service engaged with ads they viewed through the service "at a rate 300 percent above direct response industry standards."

Hmmm. That last statement is a positive sounding way to spin very low numbers - but credit MobiTV with trying.

According to MobiTV, viewers of the MobiTV service move readily from watching 30-second television ads to taking action to learn more about products and offers through click-to- dial invitations; deep links to WAP sites; viewing advertiser-branded channels for a deeper brand experience and much more. In fact, MobiTV saw several branded channels gain in popularity with usage that rivaled some of their premium channels.

"Using MobiTV's advertising platform and branded channel experiences, advertisers now have the ability to go beyond simply targeting their audiences on mobile phones, they can create compelling, branded entertainment experiences that connect viewers with their products and offers in a new and compelling way," said Jack Hallahan, vice president, advertising and brand partnerships, MobiTV.

"This year will see mobile video ads become significant to the small screen medium, answering many of mobile advertising's challenges by providing easier to find and more focused opportunities."

Other data from the study:

• 9% of MobiTV's users watch in their office or home with a "watching apparatus"   -- 43% of parent users utilize the MobiTV service to entertain kids in the car   -- 67% of users have shown the MobiTV service at a party or other social      gathering   -- 85% of MobiTV's users say they watch more TV at home since signing up      for the MobiTV service.

• MobiTV reaches more than three million adult viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, who subscribe to more than 50 live TV channels and/or digital music. Key audience demographic and psychographic data points include:

  • They love television -- They are highly mobile -- They are technophiles, trend setters, mavens who drive tech purchases, both within corporations and amongst their friends   -- They are 67% male and 33% female   -- 82% are between the ages of 18 and 39 and the remaining 18% are 40 years of age and older.

MobiTV collected the above usage and advertising data and metrics from its proprietary mobile advertising platform during H2 of 2007.

All of this sounds great. But I have my doubts that mobile television has quite the growth potential the the industry hopes for. Note that the data does not include churn rate or actual usage on a daily or even monthly basis.

I'm not picking on MobiTV - it's an innovative company with really great capabilities, especially in the realm of branded content, which I delve into in-depth in BRANDING UNBOUND the book with MobiTV founder Paul Scanlon.

It's just that I think the category needs a game changer - much more SlingBox-like capabilities. New projection technologies wouldn't hurt. Or some other advance nobody's thought of yet.

Still - if you're on the go and just have to catch that live news or sports cast, nothing's going to fit the bill like MobiTV.

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Mobile TV: Lots Are Subscribing, Fewer & Fewer Are Watching

Ah, the eternal question: HD TV or cellivision?

It may come as a surprise to the industry, but it appears people would rather watch TV on a big screen HD television set than a two- to four-inch screen on their mobile phones.

A new M:Metrics report finds that mobile subscribers who are "former mobile TV users" grew 68% last year, while growth of new users only grew 36%.

Now, it appears it's not for lack of interest. Nearly 60% of former  users said they'd sign up again if service quality and reliability significantly improved in the coming year.

I think it's more complex than that. I was a mobile TV subscriber who realized I never actually watched it. When I did, service sucked. But overall, even if it worked well, there are so few times when I absolutely need live TV on a mobile phone.

What's more, an iPhone, or some new SlingBox mobile solution, quickly points to time-shifting being as important as place-shifting. It's not that I want to sit and watch TV commercials (or tiny news scrolls and weather maps) on my mobile. It's that I want what's on my DVR or iTunes - commercial free - whenever, and wherever I want.

Nonetheless, the industry's got to see if this can turn into something big. To that end, some key findings from the M:Metrics study:

•  The UK had the highest ratio of ex-users citing quality and reliability
       as reasons for not watching mobile TV

• The United States has the lowest ratio of ex-users to users, at 1.3.
       Yet the attitudes of U.S. ex-users with regards to quality and
       reliability are very much in line with their European counterparts

• Overall mobile TV penetration in the United States lags behind all
       European markets but Germany

  • Interestingly Germany showed a staggering 159% growth in ex-users,
       while Italy has the highest percentage of mobile TV viewers

Read more about the study, here.

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WGA Writers Win Compensation for Mobile Content

As part of the new agreement forged by the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood studios, union writers will now earn compensation for mobile content, as part of provisions detailing earnings for online programming.

According to MediaBuyerPlanner, the new contract includes a 1.2 percent cut of television shows sold through new media, and 2 percent of shows created exclusively for these new channels.

Which sounds great, but is likely to earn only a couple hundred dollars for writers per episode over the near term. Online and mobile-only programming doesn't earn that much money. But, over the long-term, it's a positive step forward and the Internet and other interactive channels become what the WGA believes to be "the primary means of content creation and delivery."

Read more about the deal, here.

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Source: Verizon Launching Vcast Election Channel

Ahh, it's All Elections, All The Time, isn't it?

Just as the primary season heats up and heads toward the general election, word's out that Verizon is launching Vcast Election Channel, which aims to run content from each of the campaigns, as well as edgy video from third parties.

According to a source, the mobile channel is mainly focused on 18- to 30-year-olds, and could reach about 6 million viewers of Verizon's 52 million subscribers.

We'll keep you posted as we find out more.

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UK TV Soap Opera 'Hollyoaks' Extending Storylines From TV Into Mobile

A popular UK soap opera hopes to bring its suds to your cell phone.

UK entertainment 'zine The Stage is reporting that Conker Media and Lime Pictures are looking to develop storylines for Channel 4 soap "Hollyoaks" that begin on television and are then continued across a range of other platforms - including mobile.

Head of Conker Media Lee Hardman tells the pub: “This year you’ll see more innovation around storytelling within Hollyoaks. A particular idea we have will see stories kick off in the main show that end up playing out on broadband and mobile platforms. But it won’t spoil your viewing of the main show on Channel 4.”

I have no idea what this show's about, but if what I've around the web are any indication, it really doesn't matter. Fans are going to want more of it, whenever, wherever, however they can.

Read more, here.

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Vringo: Cartoon Networks Ad*lt Swim Tests Mobile Waters

Now you can send custom video clips from "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" to yours.

Video ringtone pioneer Vringo and Turner Broadcasting System Europe have announced they will enable Vringo subscribers to download clips from Cartoon Network and the net's Adult Swim programming block - at least in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Cartoon Network content available on the Vringo Web site includes "Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends" and "Dexter’s Laboratory" as well as content from Adult Swim, Turner’s animation and cult comedy brand that is designed to appeal to a grown-up sense of humor.

“Animation appeals to people of all ages,” said Joe Braman, director of mobile sales at Turner Broadcasting. “Through this agreement with Vringo, people of all generations will be able to enjoy well-known cartoons in yet another way—as video ringtones that they can share with their friends, young and old.”   

In BRANDING UNBOUND the book, I look at how clips from Adult Swim fare like "Drawn Together" have made waves in the U.S. mobile market.

Now, in the form of video ringtones, they're about to tweak others around the world.

Read more here.

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MobiTV, Gemstar To Bring 'Mobile TV Guide' To Handsets

The original pocket digest for TV listings is going digital in a whole new way.

Gemstar-TV Guide International has signed a patent license agreement with MobiTV, Inc., to bring an interactive program guide to the MobiTV service.

"Due to the ever-expanding amount of video content available, we believe that interactive guidance technology is quickly becoming a must-have tool, not only for the TV at home, but for other emerging platforms, including online, IPTV, and mobile," says Rich Cusick, Gemstar-TV Guide's senior vice president for digital media. "We are pleased that MobiTV, recognized for offering the most extensive mobile entertainment experience to users on-the-go, and its partners, will benefit from TV Guide's guidance patents."

In BRANDING UNBOUND the book, I interview Paul Scanlon, founder of MobiTV, about his plans for the mobile medium - and what it means to the way we experience television and video content on the go.

Read more about the book here.

Read more about the TV Guide initiative here.

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Sundance Channel Content Coming To V CAST

My, aren't we cell phones could be so cultured: Content from The Sundance Channel is coming to Verizon's V CAST service.

Content will include:

• Clips from past Sundance Film Festival coverage featuring Robert Redford and Crispin Glover

• Animated short films on green topics, including "Breakfast," by Bob Fox, Yung Yeti," by Cole Gerst, and more

• Live action short films, including "Electric Chairs," from Anita McGee and "Not Pretty, Really" from Mark McKinney

• Segments from the channel's original series "Big Ideas for a Small Planet"

• A frequently updated line-up of content, including film and documentary clips, "thematic stunts" around key events (e.g., Earth Day) and short film projects developed for the small screen

"We are thrilled to bring Sundance Channel content to Verizon Wireless' mobile audience," says Christopher Barry, senior vice president of digital media and business strategy for Sundance Channel, in a statement. "We also look forward to showcasing original film projects that are developed with the small screen in mind during 2008."

What's next, content from "Masterpiece Theater"? Or "Current TV: Mobile"?

And who else is relieved to hear Crispin Glover is indeed alive and well?

Joking aside, V CAST, as usually, is ahead of the curve. For an in-depth look at some of the key innovations in programming V CAST has brought to the mobile medium, be sure to pick up a copy of BRANDING UNBOUND the book, today.

Read more about the Sundance announcement, here.

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David Lynch Rips Mobile Content; Gets Turned Into Faux iPhone Ad

I thought this was pretty funny - and true. Somebody grabbed a clip of director David Lynch and turned it into an irreverent iPhone ad.

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