[3g-g]

Analysts are forecasting that the next high earner for the networks could be TV over your mobile... bringing in revenue of $3bn.. however that's not as staggering as what they predict mobile gaming will draw.. a whopping $19.3bn.

I just can't see it somehow... but I may be wrong!

Taken from silicon.com (http://www.silicon.com)


If you don't have the handset, you can't watch the telly

With several of the mobile industry big names already getting involved in video and TV over mobile, the market won't take off for the foreseeable future.

Analyst house IDC predicts that the relatively low rate of video- and TV-enabled handsets will serve to hamper growth until the end of the decade, with subscribers numbering some 30 million in the US by 2009. DRM and media players' ease of use will also affect the rate of uptake.

The revenue from short-clip, live streaming and video downloads will reach $3bn in the US by 2009, according to IDC – some considerable way behind the $19.3bn mobile gaming is expected to generate.

Lewis Ward, senior research analyst in IDC's Wireless and Mobile Communications program, said that by the end of the decade, monthly ARPU (average revenue per user) for wireless video and TV will be around $10 per subscriber – making it the biggest revenue generator aside from voice minutes.

[3GScottishUser]

Nah.... why would you?

How many folks do you see with those Casio Mini Handheld LCD TV's?

They have been around for over 10 years have have been a novelty only. (I bought one for £60 a few years back and its been in a drawer almost since the day after i realised how impractical it is!)

TV Clips on phones maybe.... broadcast TV - Unlikely!

[Ben]

News 24 streamed would be useful... :)

[3GScottishUser]

You'd need a big magnifying glass to make anything of it unless you had something like a Motorola A1000.....and that's not likely to appeal to many because of its physical size.

3G in terms of handset display size is a real problem. You want the display but not the brick like device that currently exists with a decent sized battery to make viewing for any length of time worthwhile.

[JB's Best Mate]

I missed it due to being out of the country but apparently 3Uk streamed the Grand National to users who had subscribed.

Must admit I have not come across anybody who watched it but its a step in the right direction - cant wait for all that live Big Brother rubbish :)

[Ben]

Yeah, the BBC were trialling streaming to 3G mobiles with the Grand National affair. I don't care for horse racing, but wish I'd had my 6680 to try it on at the time.

LoL @ Big Brother rubbish. Put it this way, if Orange/an independent aren't streaming it then I'll be going to whatever network does! :D

[JB's Best Mate]

Well I know that 3 in another country did do live streaming of Big Brother think it was Sweden or Oz , cant remember.

Its the sort of thing that would appeal to start because of the wow factor and then I am afraid the voyeur factor comes into play and we all like to be nosey when the truth is told.

[Ben]

I think an independent tried it here too last year, but it would have been too expensive and not amazing quality over GPRS. If the same happens this year then I'll be chuffed with the data bundle I've got! I also didn't have a symbian phone at the time, but I'd imagine the 6680 will handle their player ok.

There's something cool about being able to take a peak inside the house on your mobile, no matter how tacky the show is :D

[3GScottishUser]

I can imagine employers getting 'touchy' about workers skiving off to squint at the antics of the wannabe's whilst the customers get ignored or the work piles up. Put it this way, smokers are now being 'watched' for taking breaks outwith the stated ones for a fly puff and most now believe they should'nt be allowed special treatment.

Whilst the technology is a great thing I suspect we have to accept that for some it will be a major distraction from what they should be doing (I know how much time gets wasted watching students on MSN/Yahoo Messenger daily), so thankfully for now this activity will be limited by cost and 3G is unlikey to ever have the capacity to provide streaming to many. Perhaps a mobile with DVB included could be the answer....they have those now in Korea!!!

[3g-g]

I have to admit I have been watching a few Sky News clips from the Orange World website. Even though I couldnt just go in and read the headlines I still downloaded the clip. The quality as a small picture wasn't too bad.. although small, even on full screen it was slightly pixelated, but still watchable.

The DVB type brodcast to a mobile surely has to be long way off? The government is only just managing people to ditch analogue TV in favour of digital, how on earth would the networks market TV to your handset. Thinking about it, would your home TV licence cover you for watching TV via a mobile??

[Ben]

"Thinking about it, would your home TV licence cover you for watching TV via a mobile??"

AFAIK the TV in my car is covered by the house TV Licence, so I'd imagine so. I don't think digital broadcasting to mobile phones is toooo far off - though I've not heard much about it recently - but it's certainly not going to pop up tomorrow. I'm not sure how they'd make it into a decent revenue spinner either, at least data is chargable.

I agree that the clips are quite watchable on a mobile. While I wouldn't really want to watch TV on it, things like News 24 and streamed radio stations are very useful for getting access to information when something big happens. It's also much quicker to digest information from streaming/clips rather than reading pages and pages of text. One thing I like(d) about the Sky News clips is the Press Review one. I regularly hear updates on what the press is covering on Five Live, but in the Sky News clip you have the advantage of actually being able to see the papers.

[miffed]

the TV in my car

:eek:

I beleive the way it stands is that your domestic licence covers your other TV's (cars , holiday home etc ) as long as no one is watching the one at home at the same time

:mad: :mad: Don't get me started on the TV licencing system ..... Grrrrrr :mad: :mad: :mad:

[TheBrit]

:eek:

:mad: :mad: Don't get me started on the TV licencing system ..... Grrrrrr :mad: :mad: :mad:So...you prefer to have advert infested programmes and movies then? Personally I'd rather have the license fee than adverts on the BBC.

Oops - off topic. ;)

[Ben]

I have to say, I completely agree. I'm hoping that the BBC portal will soon provide a range of mobile content and also a mobile radio player, meaning I'll get even more value out of the current TV Licence. It may be a pain in the ass, but we set the world standard for television programme quality (perhaps moreso in technical terms than content?) - the current system seems to have struck just the right balance in this country.

[miffed]

fair enough , a lot of people are pleased with the content of BBC programmes & choose to watch them , but is it fair that those that don't want to watch BBC programmes should be subsidising them ?
The licence fee may have been relevant a few years ago , but in this day and age ?
Once everything is digital TV companies will be 100% able to charge people by subscription - how can anyone suggest that paying for services whether you want them or not is fair ?

[Ben]

You benefit from the BBC whether you watch it or not. Everyone benefits from their journalism (even if indirectly through other sources) and everyone benefits from the increased quality on the commercial channels as they compete with the BBC. Without the BBC we'd have something more like the often-horrible picture quality and 3-ad-breaks-per-programme system that the USA has.

The BBC does desperately need to embrace phones though. I noticed that their portal does have some 'videos' to download and watch now, which I have to say worked very well, but they're preferably going to need radio, news and programming feeds if they are to remain relevant to the 'new ways' of doing things. The beauty about preparing content for mobiles is that it's a step backwards - simpler websites, lower quality/smaller sized pictures and videos, and the need for less overall content to allow easy browsing on a small screen.

There's certainly no excuses for them not providing us with a mobile service within the next year.