Is MobiTV a Success Story in the Making?

While the current economic crisis has affected a lot of companies, some companies still continue to enjoy huge growth. MobiTV, the pioneer in mobile entertainment, has had a phenomenal growth so far and the bad economy does not seem to have affected it at all. The company recently released its growth and revenue details and I have to say I was pretty impressed to see the figures.

1. The company recently reached the 5 million subscriber mark which is a considerable achievement. Interestingly, it managed to add more than a million subscribers in just five months.

2. Its growth chart has been really impressive. It started offering live TV to mobile phones way back in 2003 – a time when mobile TV was considered a longshot. In 2005, it had just around 500,000 subscribers. Now, it has crossed the 5 million mark.

3. The annual revenue, which was around $20 million in 2005, has now more than tripled and the company expects a substantial profit in the first quarter of 2009.

4. Recently, it has added popular shows like Desperate Housewives and ABC News to its long list of products. Also, its live coverage of the presidential debates got a huge positive response from a record number of mobile users.

5. A few months back, MobiTV came up with an application called Mobi4Biz which provides customized business news packages to viewers. The package includes features like live TV and a special video on demand facility wherein customers can get content from CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business, and TheStreet.com. This application, as of now, is only available on Blackberry Bold. Depending on this app’s success, the company has plans to come up with a replica of this application next year for sports fans and children as well.

6. MobiTV has joined hands with more than 20 carrier networks including some big names like AT&T, Sprint, and Alltel and is available on more than 350 handsets. It offers a wide range of content including live TV, video on demand, digital music services, and premium programs. The revenue generated is split evenly between MobiTV, content providers, and mobile operators.

As you can see, MobiTV is a success story in every which way. However, its founders are wary of the fact that mobile TV is fast becoming hugely competitive and they constantly strive to keep their standards really high. Last year, we saw both AT&T and Verizon joining hands with Qualcomm MediaFlo to launch their own mobile TV service – named AT&T Mobile TV and Verizon VCast respectively. This apart, local TV stations are also planning to enter the mobile world by offering live TV to mobile phones through standard TV signals. So, it is not going to be a smooth ride for MobiTV for sure.

Categories: All things mobile phones, Mobile TV.

4 comments.

Mobile search grew 68% last year - says research firm

The latest report from comScore says that mobile search is growing by leaps and bounds in the U.S. and Western Europe – a terrific 68% growth in the U.S. and 38% growth in Western Europe. The research firm says that mobile search has a huge future and these numbers could go up considerably in the coming years.

With the influx of high end phones like Apple iPhone and smart phones, mobile users find it easier to access the internet from their mobile phone. So, they use the search facility extensively. Experts say that the introduction of 3G has played a big role in the growth of mobile search. In fact, since the introduction of 3G, the number of mobile users in the U.S. that use the mobile search facility has doubled.

Now, let’s take a look at some numbers.

1. Between June 2007 and June 2008, around 21 million U.S. subscribers and 4.5 million European subscribers used the mobile search facility.

2. Google is the most important search provider for mobile phones. It has a 60% market share in mobile search around the world. It is followed by its fiercest competitor in the mobile space, Yahoo, which has a market share of around 35%. As you know, Google is the default search provider for Sprint and the iPhone and Yahoo is the default search provider for AT&T.

3. 9.5% of mobile users in the U.K. used the mobile search facility last year, which is unprecedented. In the U.S., around 9.2% of mobile users used the search facility.

If the mobile industry continues to grow at this rate, which it will, we can expect a lot more high end phones at affordable rates, cheaper and better data plans, and as a result, a huge increase in the number of people who use the mobile search facility.

Categories: All things mobile phones.

1 comment.

Microsoft and Sprint bring location based Live Search technology to mobile phones

Microsoft has joined hands with Sprint to bring location based search function in high-end phones. This function, location based Live Search, will take your location into account while giving search results, thereby helping you choose the most relevant ones.

Location based Live Search uses a technology called cellular tower triangulation, which pings cellular towers and finds your location easily. This can be of great help to people. Especially, if you are out of town and don’t have a clue about the place you are in, this technology can come into play big time. Just imagine. You are out of town, in a place about which you have no clue. You want to have lunch in a decent restaurant but not sure where to find one. You can take your mobile phone and search for a restaurant nearby. The search results will show you the restaurants available nearby and your problem is solved.

The most impressive thing about this technology is that it doesn’t require a GPS enabled phone to find your location. Since it pings cellular towers and finds your location, you are free to use any phone on Sprint’s network.

Categories: All things mobile phones, Microsoft.

0 comments.

Mobile broadband - the next big thing

Some of you might be wondering why I come up with terms like mobile broadband and mobile internet as often as I can. Well; let me put it in a way that everyone can understand.

Let’s say. You go out of town. A town where broadband internet centers don’t exist. And you’re not exactly the Blackberry-carrying, laptop-flaunting executive type. You need to check your email or need to check out something darn important in some obscure website. What do you do?

The solution could be – a good mobile phone with mobile internet / mobile broadband facility. And don’t think I’m the only one who’s rooting for this. A recent survey by ComScore states that mobile broadband usage went up by a freaking 154% in the fourth quarter of 2007. Not surprisingly, Verizon and Sprint account for most of the mobile broadband market.

Now, the next time you see someone questioning you on mobile broadband/mobile internet/mobile email/mobile games/mobile entertainment/mobile advertising, or hell, anything mobile, teach him all this. Or better yet, direct him to this blog.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Web.

0 comments.

AdMob + Unicast = Effective Mobile Advertising Campaigns

AdMob, a well known name in mobile advertising, has joined hands with Unicast in an effort to make its mobile advertising campaigns better and more effective. Through this partnership, AdMob will use Unicast’s Rich Media Mobile Platform to make its advertising campaigns richer, better, and more effective.

Rich Media Mobile is a technology which can be used to create rich, effective mobile advertisements and track their performance. Mobile advertisers are thrilled at the prospect of having a technology which will not only make their advertising campaigns better, but also track their performance and hence help them calculate the ROI (Return on Investment) perfectly.

Rich Media Mobile uses a unique technology which can automatically find out the type of mobile phone a user has and the kind of media it can play and offer the mobile content in the right format. In other words, this technology will customize mobile content and deliver it appropriately. This will help mobile marketers deliver their content effectively and enhance the experience of mobile advertising for end users. You can track your advertising campaigns through real-time reporting and assess their effectiveness. The service is compatible with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and other prominent US carriers.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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