Mobile TV World meets MobiTV
MobiTV
Ray DeRenzo
MobiTV brings millions of users worldwide the live TV and impressive on-demand content from the world's top providers in news, sports, music and full-length entertainment.
They are undoubtedly the market leader in mobile TV deliverance and let you take the likes of ESPN, NBC and CBS Sports with you wherever you happen to be, on over 400 devices and counting.
I met up with Ray DeRenzo, Chief Marketing Officer at MobiTV, to talk about the mobile TV phenomenon.
Ray, in one word how would you describe MobiTV?
“Innovation”
One of MobiTV's main innovations has been video on demand technology, with the ability to pause, stop and then playback - do you see this as a staple of your consumer appeal?
“Consumers want to be able to control their viewing experience, and functionality such as pause, stop and resume… MobiTV's solution allows them to do that.”
Would this include live TV?
“MobiTV Accelerated Media Platform enables those features not just with VOD, but with live programming as well. Back in August 2010 we announced that these features were available on the latest Blackberry Torch handset.”
He continued: “Beyond offline playback, live TV and a large VOD library, the MobiTV service on the BlackBerry Torch features enhanced discoverability of new content, resulting in a more personalized viewing experience.”
How personalized?
“Users have the ability to create quick links to favourite content and channels. As a result subscribers using MobiTV powered services on the device have more control over when and how they consume mobile media.”
MobiTV was very successful streaming American football and Nascar racing through mobile apps. Do MobiTV see sports as the main take up of the service in the future?
“The success of these events is due to the fact that they are ‘live’, not necessarily because they are sporting events. MobiTV, Inc. has witnessed peaks in usage and engagement during 'live' and 'breaking news' events that people want to be a part of.”
Any examples?
“Barack Obama's presidential inauguration, Tiger Woods press conference, in which he made his famous 'Mea Culpa' to the world, and the Michael Jackson memorial service all attracted large audiences.”
So live TV is the draw?
“This spike in usage associated with live events demonstrates that consumers want to be able to watch content and programming that they're interested in, wherever they are, on whatever device they have.”
Do you think entertainment such as movies and soaps will eventually play a bigger part?
“Very well, Sprint TV, which is powered by MobiTV's Accelerated Media Platform, offers 19 new titles a month from the Sony's Crackle Films subsidiary. This dedicated service available to Sprint's subscribers has been a top-performer.”
Take up has been encouraging of MobiTV's end-to end-service delivering wireless and broadband - with over 7 million users mentioned on your site. This is very impressive growth. Are predications for growth in the future equally encouraging?
“At its core, MobiTV, Inc. is a technology company he added.”
“Our end-to end managed service now delivers live streaming and video content to over 13 million subscribers. During the last few months MobiTV has experienced a huge uptake in demand for streaming services driven by live events such as the World Cup, and in September it streamed 59 live events for a combined total of over 170 hours of programming content in the space of a week. Over the last 12 months the programming we have delivered accounts for a total 1.2 billion minutes of media.”
You seem to be expanding with each passing day - do you see any current threat to your business model - broadcast mobile TV using the ATSC standard for example?
“MobiTV, Inc. has been working cooperatively with ATSC M-H to establish standards, and showcased a hybrid solution called mixTV at the NAB conference in Las Vegas last year.”
Can both services share growth in the market without detriment to each other?
“This solution allows service providers to combine free mobile DTV content with previously broadcast content available on-demand.”
What are your thoughts on MediaFlo's exit?
Ray explained: “At MobiTV, Inc., our business is strong - we are integrated with every major carrier in North America, every major handset manufacturer and every major content partners. World-class companies depend on the operational reliability of the MobiTV Accelerated Media Platform to deliver content to over 13 million managed subscribers.”
While MobieTV has been exceptionally successful thus far, it is predominantly a US phenomenon - are there plans afoot to replicate the success globally?
“We've been focused on proving the market in North America, which we've done very successfully. We are having conversations with operators outside the markets that we operate within.”
So how would you sell yourself in 'untouched' markets - would you say having TV programmes that travel with you out your front door the main appeal of your service?
“Consumers welcome the promise of TV Everywhere - the ability to watch their media and entertainment wherever they are, whenever they want it, on whatever device happens to be in front of them.”
Considering we live in the ‘mobile age’ why do you think it has taken so long for mobile TV to catch on?
“There have been technical constraints and market dynamics that have led to fractured solutions across the TV and video ecosystem. Consumers are under the misconception that convergence is limited to merely having the ability to set your home DVR from your mobile phone, or being able to connect multiple televisions in your household.”
You are considered the market leader, is that reputation well earned?
“MobiTV, Inc. has developed technology that delivers on the promise of convergence by solving the most challenging aspects of multi-screen delivery including user centric authentication, place and time shifting between devices, dynamic bandwidth adaptation, cross-platform DRM content protection and more.”
“We showcased our convergence platform at the recent CTIA show in Las Vegas, providing a demonstration of its features across a range of platforms”, Ray added.
So what does the future hold for MobiTV?
“MobiTV, Inc. will continue to grow our leadership position in the space. We'll continue to innovate so that our technology evolves ahead of the market, anticipating needs and solving possible issues before they become problems. And, with our focus on operational excellence as it relates to the MobiTV Accelerated Media Platform, we'll continue to deliver performance, reliability and scalability for our carrier/operator clients”
bb64a5b7-68fd-4479-bb41-330d52280fa9|6|4.8