I have to agree with Mike - although I think people would be all for mobile TV, the only way it would EVER succeed is if the following things are in place:
1.) TV transmissions must be fast, fast, fast. No choppy video. Only smooth video transmissions will be acceptable.
2.) There must be variety. Offering only four channels, for instance, or uninteresting TV, or channels that few are truly interested in, simply will not be acceptable. People need to see a lot of variety - more than just local channels - maybe thirty or forty GOOD channels at least - not channels that broadcast senate hearings and boring crap like that, but that offer sports, comedy, local and world news, pop culture, music and concerts, animated series (like Family Guy), drama, nature, history, technology, maybe even weather, etc.
3.) TV broadcasts for mobile devices need to be live. For those who don't know what I mean exactly, mobile broadcasts need to air at the same time they're airing on regular TV. I don't want to know that all the popular shows I'm watching aired three hours earlier on regular TV in my timezone. I want to know that I'm sharing in whatever everyone else is watching at the same time they're watching it.
4.) In addition to that, people will want some on demand capability. They'll need to know that they have access to certain shows on every channel they have access to. Maybe someone enjoyed something and they want to watch it again, or maybe they want to show a family member or friend something they thought was really funny or entertaining. But this must be available for every channel that is offered (maybe not every show, but the biggest shows and specials) - there can't be a paltry selection like what we see on Comcast's on demand library, which is lame at best. There must be a lot of on-demand offerings.
5.) It needs to be inexpensive. If they accomplish everything I mention above, which they could over time, it still cannot be more than $10/mo. We'd be watching this on 3" and 4" screens, so they won't be able to demand much of a premium from consumers. I can go out and buy a pocket color TV and watch local channels for free right now. They only thing that would allow for them to charge anything would be an extended channel line-up of live TV and on demand capability.
6.) There needs to be some custom content just for mobile TV viewers. TV shorts and so on.
7.) They would succeed even more if they included a large and very well rounded selection of movies to an on demand service. Of course, these would cost extra I'd imagine, but they couldn't charge $3 and $4 for them - not on a 3" screen. $1 per movie at most (and not per showing, but for say, a week long rental). Also, offering pay-per-view events would be fantastic for many.
8.) The software interface needs to be utterly fantastic, flexible, and easy to use. There needs to be available the ability to choose between simple controls and advanced controls similar to what we see with the mobile software that works in conjunction with the Slingbox.
9.) All of the above needs to be available for Windows Mobile based Pocket PC Phones and Smartphones, whether or not they're unlocked or offered by the wireless provider. If they don't support unlocked devices as well, then they can forget seeing the success they want - too many people have unlocked devices, and as long as they're getting money in their pocket because of the service, then they should be happy to offer it as an add-on service for those customers.
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I have to agree with Mike - although I think people would be all for mobile TV, the only way it would EVER succeed is if the following things are in place:
1.) TV transmissions must be fast, fast, fast. No choppy video. Only smooth video transmissions will be acceptable.
2.) There must be variety. Offering only four channels, for instance, or uninteresting TV, or channels that few are truly interested in, simply will not be acceptable. People need to see a lot of variety - more than just local channels - maybe thirty or forty GOOD channels at least - not channels that broadcast senate hearings and boring crap like that, but that offer sports, comedy, local and world news, pop culture, music and concerts, animated series (like Family Guy), drama, nature, history, technology, maybe even weather, etc.
3.) TV broadcasts for mobile devices need to be live. For those who don't know what I mean exactly, mobile broadcasts need to air at the same time they're airing on regular TV. I don't want to know that all the popular shows I'm watching aired three hours earlier on regular TV in my timezone. I want to know that I'm sharing in whatever everyone else is watching at the same time they're watching it.
4.) In addition to that, people will want some on demand capability. They'll need to know that they have access to certain shows on every channel they have access to. Maybe someone enjoyed something and they want to watch it again, or maybe they want to show a family member or friend something they thought was really funny or entertaining. But this must be available for every channel that is offered (maybe not every show, but the biggest shows and specials) - there can't be a paltry selection like what we see on Comcast's on demand library, which is lame at best. There must be a lot of on-demand offerings.
5.) It needs to be inexpensive. If they accomplish everything I mention above, which they could over time, it still cannot be more than $10/mo. We'd be watching this on 3" and 4" screens, so they won't be able to demand much of a premium from consumers. I can go out and buy a pocket color TV and watch local channels for free right now. They only thing that would allow for them to charge anything would be an extended channel line-up of live TV and on demand capability.
6.) There needs to be some custom content just for mobile TV viewers. TV shorts and so on.
7.) They would succeed even more if they included a large and very well rounded selection of movies to an on demand service. Of course, these would cost extra I'd imagine, but they couldn't charge $3 and $4 for them - not on a 3" screen. $1 per movie at most (and not per showing, but for say, a week long rental). Also, offering pay-per-view events would be fantastic for many.
8.) The software interface needs to be utterly fantastic, flexible, and easy to use. There needs to be available the ability to choose between simple controls and advanced controls similar to what we see with the mobile software that works in conjunction with the Slingbox.
9.) All of the above needs to be available for Windows Mobile based Pocket PC Phones and Smartphones, whether or not they're unlocked or offered by the wireless provider. If they don't support unlocked devices as well, then they can forget seeing the success they want - too many people have unlocked devices, and as long as they're getting money in their pocket because of the service, then they should be happy to offer it as an add-on service for those customers.