Although about a quarter of 3 users watched clips of the World Cup on their mobile phones the operator didn’t make a profit on the service, as it was offered free with ads (I’m pretty sure this is just for 3UK). “It was a good PR and branding exercise, but it’s not a commercially sustainable model,” said David Stranks, who oversaw the operator’s coverage of the event.
It’s not clear whether he was talking about ad-supported content in general or just the particular way 3 offered the service, but it’s definitely negative news for the idea that mobile content can be offered free and supported by ads. It’s possible 3 got a lot more viewers than they were expecting and so undercharged for sponsorship, I don’t know how the deals were arranged.
The operator seems to think the promotion is worth it though…3 Ireland has announced plans to offer free content based on The Ryder Cup.
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