The next session was on Mobile TV, and featured Neil Chakravarti, VP of Zee Telefilms, Viren Popli, Sr.VP – Wireless Interactive, STAR, Pradeep Shrivastava, CMO of Idea Cellular and Dan Wilstrand, Head of Sales & Marketing for Kamera. Neeraj Roy, MD & CEO of Hungama Mobile, chairing the session, asked about the biggest realizations over 2007. Chakravarti thought that Zee learnt in 2006 that content can sell. For 2007 they have set up teams that can get content and put in on the platform. The other realization is that user generated content is big, and they are doing focus group discussion with the youth on Mobile TV. 20 million people in India have accessed video content on the mobile in India, added Neeraj Roy. Wilstrand expects little of 2007 for India, but so far, India has beaten his expectations. He feels that time sensitive content will be of interest to mobile users.
When asked about Zee’s mobile TV operations, Chakravarti said that they are in discussions with potential partners. Price points have to be determined, since viewers in general are spoilt – they want free cricket. Also, if digital TV is about choices, mobile TV is about favorites.
Asked about financial models, Viren Popli said that the a-la-carte pay per download has fatigued - everything is driven by subscription models and we’re used to it. So Rs.10 per clip is expensive. Subscription model has to be looked at, but managing a subscription model is difficult when people change phone models and mobile numbers.
Chakravarti added that they’re looking at trial runs of content in Western Europe and North America, and have a DRM which they are going through right now to repurpose content. The pay per view model is difficult since it takes time. The mobile is a slow device to work with, and delivering clip by clip is difficult. The mega trend, though, is for on demand content.
Popli said that Mobile TV is a broadcast technology. You need a return path only for revenue. It can be put into BEST buses and DVD screens. TV on mobile, however, requires an operator.
During the Q&A, I asked them about whether it’s a situation where they’re readying the content, and expecting that it will be consumed, since there are several usability issues that plague mobile usage. Popli responded that people will learn to use a device or a tech if there’s a good enough reason to do so. There also needs to be an on ground drive to make it possible. You need a trigger to drive usage, and TV on mobile can be one. Handsets for broadcast TV are going to become easier. Pradeep Shrivastava said that the current sales and distribution model of handsets is consumer driven – so if there are compelling reasons for GPRS, the solution will evolve.