Over here in Digital-Lifestyles land, we’re always getting our ears bent by some PR-type banging on about how mobile TV is going to be “the next big app” to hit handsets.
Luxembourg (amongst others) have already broadcast trials and commercial pilots, and now Singapore mobile operator M1 is getting in on the act, airing previews of its made-for-mobile TV drama.
The service, snappily dubbed “3G TV”, is the result of a partnership between MediaCorp Studios, the Media Development Authority of Singapore and M1. The trio are hoping to flog off the series to other operators in the region.
With mobile TV slowly coming up on the consumers’ radar, high quality content will be a critical factor on whether the service takes off, so mobile companies and TV content owners are keen to do lunch, chew the fat and go for a synergetic workout afterwards.
Mr P Subramaniam, director of M1’s sales and marketing department served up this pearl of wisdom to Channel News: “What’s more important here is the whole revolutionary concept behind this, how consumers look at it and take it up. And that’s where it’s going to get really exciting.”
M1 and its partners plan to knock out dramas with a specific mobile version, which will be different to the regular TV episodes, allowing viewers the choice of watching a broadcast TV version or an extension of the same show on mobile.
The first drama to emerge from this collaboration, titled “PS I Love You”, is due to appear on mobile phones in Singapore by June of this year.
Not everyone is convinced that creating custom drama content for mobiles is going to be a monster hit, but with mobile companies, TV content owners and producers are keen to test the demand for this potentially lucrative new outlet.
More collaborations are expected to emerge in the forthcoming months.