Hong Kong, 12 December, 2007 – A Mobile TV CXO Summit, jointly organised by the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) was held in Hong Kong on December 3rd.
The highly interactive Summit successfully connected 40 senior content owners, mobile communications carriers and service providers in an informal and innovative environment allowing participants to brainstorm on how best to nurture the growth of mobile TV in Asia.
Participants included Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Turner International, Bloomberg Television, Discovery Networks, Granada International and Walt Disney Television. Regional and international mobile network service providers and technology specialists such as SwissCom Mobile, Telia Sonera, MediaQuest, PCCW, StarHub, Smartone, Hutchinson Telecom, CSL and 3 Hong Kong, along with Nokia, Qualcomm, Irdeto, NagraVision, NDS, Speedcast, ITSun, Dada Asia, IMG, MIH and PricewaterhouseCoopers were also among the Summit participants.
According to a summary of the series of meetings in groups of 10 during the day, “ultimately mobile TV could be a huge revenue source for network operators, TV content owners, technology services providers and advertising agencies.
“Nevertheless, the jury is still out. There are many issues that still need to be addressed before getting a clear direction on the future development of mobile TV in Asia.”
The event opened with an introductory presentation based on a report for CASBAA Members by consultant Mike Walsh, which highlights “Ten essential items for a successful Mobile TV platform in Asia”. This was followed by four tightly moderated roundtable sessions during which three topics were debated: The mobile TV business model; Content creation & management and Marketing & monetizing mobile TV.
During the Summit, it was widely agreed that two major challenges remain before securing mass consumer adoption of mobile TV services: “User experience and Content”.
According to the summary: “Although the capability to deliver content is there, user experience is very much dependent on technology being able to provide better networks with higher video quality and resolution; better devices with larger screens; longer battery life and affordable handsets across a widely varying Asian landscape.”
Content is the other critical factor and much debate took place as to what genre of content will work in Asia. Some saw News and Sports as driver genres, while others claimed that experience shows that “entertainment drives as much as 80% of take up.”
Content localisation is also a key factor as content preferences differ from market to market and is “very much driven by consumer lifestyles”. Thus, a well thought out and highly targeted marketing plan is central to launching mobile TV services successfully.
“We believe we achieved the objective of the Mobile TV CXO Summit, which was to provide a high octane, low burn interactive platform for industry players. However, it remains clear that network operators and content providers have yet to agree on what kind of business model works,” said Simon Twiston Davies, CEO of CASBAA.
The Mobile TV CXO Summit was organised by CASBAA and the MEF to engender the much-needed conversations necessary for the growth of mobile TV in Asia.
“We have made a start. That’s all. There is much work to be done,” said Twiston Davies.
About CASBAA – www.casbaa.com
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) is an industry-based advocacy group dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel TV via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 128 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than three billion people. Members include AETN International (History Channel), Asia Broadcast Networks, Asia Broadcast Satellite, AsiaSat, Astro, Australia Network, Bloomberg Television, Chunghwa Telecom, Discovery Networks Asia, Genesis Networks, Granada International/ITV Worldwide, HBO Asia, Intelsat, Macquarie Group, MediaFLO Technologies, Motorola, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, now TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, SES New Skies, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, TrueVisions, Turner International Asia Pacific, Walt Disney Television International, Chello Zone, Al Jazeera, Amarchand Mangaldas, Asian Food Channel, BBC Global Channels Asia-Pacific, Celestial Movies, Deutsche Welle, ESPN STAR Sports, Hallmark Channel, GMA Network Inc., GroupM, HiT Entertainment, Hong Kong Cable TV, Irdeto, KDB Skylife, Lovells, Measat, MGM Networks, Microsoft Corporation, Minter Ellison, National Geographic, Network18, Paul Weiss, Playboy TV, ProtoStar, Providence Equity, PT Direct Vision, SAT-GE, Tandberg Television, Tata Sky, TBN, Ten Sports, TFN Media, TimeWarner, TV5MONDE, Viaccess and Zee TV.
About MEF – www.m-e-f.org
Since 2000, MEF has established itself as the leading global trade association for companies large and small across the mobile entertainment value chain.
MEF’s membership base spans the entire range of mobile entertainment activities, including music, film, TV and video companies who create and package content; publishers, retailers, service providers and technologists who sell and deliver content and network operators who get the content to the end users.
For enquiries, please contact:
CASBAA
Helen Shek/ Carmen Mak
Marketing Communications
Tel: +852 2854 9943
Fax: +852 2854 9530
Email: pr@casbaa.com