Mobile TV ‘superstars’ could emerge from dragged-out writers’ strike
Saturday, December 29th, 2007Television just isn’t the same these days. The writers’ strike in Hollywood, now in its ninth week, has given millions another reason to turn off the tube. Unless reruns and reality TV are your thing, the TV set has essentially become a content wasteland where late night and scripted TV shows are nearly absent altogether (well, except for sports programming).
It’s too soon to determine how the strike will affect the momentum wireless carriers and content providers are experiencing with the growth of mobile TV services. But the Writers Guild of America argues it is fighting for big stakes in the emerging new media space. That umbrella term for the newest forms of distribution, including mobile TV services, is the name of the game—and largely considered the future—for TV, and writers understandably want to secure their slice of that action going forward.
Impact on mobile TV
It’s difficult to argue that the dispute between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is having no impact on mobile television. While most mobile TV service providers and networks either decline to comment or brush the strike aside as a minor nuisance, those in the industry who don’t get their paychecks from a major entertainment company see things somewhat differently. But, it’s not all crash and burn either. The impact is nuanced and relatively unnoticed by most.
“In the sense that mobile television content is re-purposed, yes, there will be some impact,” said Karen Allen, general manager of Mobile Entertainment Forum Americas. Indeed, she believes most viewers that get fed up with the lack of content on TV will turn to the Internet first, primarily because it’s more in sync with their existing behavior.
As for mobile becoming an alternative platform for those viewers, the medium is clearly waiting for them with open arms. Overall, Allen estimates that around 1 million users are being added to mobile video services each month. “We are seeing great increases in all of that,” she said. Still, she believes there are enough mobile content providers to fill the slots for the likes of MediaFLO USA Inc., MobiTV Inc. and GoTV Networks Inc. (Read More)