CTIA: TV Execs Not Satisfied With Mobile TV

It is a good thing that executives at TV networks are not satisified with the way mobile TV is, because it illustrates a desire to see it improve…which it really needs to do. On a panel at the Mobile Entertainment Live event at CTIA Cyriac Roeding, executive vice president of CBS Mobile, said that mobile TV needs to be ad-supported before it really takes off, but doesn’t expect it to happen before the end of the decade. “Actually, I wish this was going beyond the hypey, bubbling phase and going into the real phase…The consumer is not going to bear all the cost on their shoulders anymore,” he said, according to RCR News. He described discoverability as a “nightmare” and said simplicity of use was key.

Lucy Hood, president of Fox Mobile Entertainment, had a different take on the problem. “I think what we really need in mobile is better content…If we really want to grow this business, it’s got to be truly compelling content because that’s the only way you grow beyond a few early adopters”. Apparently in reference to advertising Hood said that the industry had to offer proof that people are being reached and that it’s working.

I think both aspects are important, and both need to be improved. People need to want to view mobile content, and need to be able to access the content easily. Accessing the content includes discoverability and the cost of the service. It’s a good sign that the big content producers realise that there’s still a lot of work to be done, and (some, at least) realise that part of the issue needs to be solved by them.

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