Mobile TV and content look to be gaining traction in Asia with service rollouts, take-up and returns on the rise, as well as new mobile content growing considerably over the past year. Long-touted as the ‘killer application’ to bring the elusive alternative source of revenue to carriers, operators and content providers, the mobile platform is finally showing signs that it just might live up to those lofty expectations. In monetary returns, 2007 saw the Asia Pacific mobile video services market comprising twelve territories outside Japan earn revenues of up to US$440million. In the six years that follow, the figure is expected to surge at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.4% to hit US$1.88billion by 2013. That’s according to market research firm Frost & Sullivan’s ‘Asia Pacific Tunes Up for Mobile TV’ study, a part of the Mobile & Wireless Growth Partnership Service programme which conducts research into mobile and wireless broadband, mobile content and telecommunications services. “Amid the growing interest in triple-play and mobile advertising, mobile TV has been the buzzword in the Asia-Pacific mobile and wireless market. The recent spate of trials and the commercial launches (indicate) that mobile TV fever could well catch on throughout the Asia-Pacific region,” said Frost & Sullivan’s industry analyst Shaker Amin. As Asia’s prime example of mobile TV success, South Korea contributed US$383.7million or 87% of the mobile TV revenue pie as subscriptions reached the 11million mark in February 2008 with 9.69million Terrestrial–Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (T-DMB) and 1.31million Satellite–Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (S-DMB) users. The report has also tipped mobile video services in Korea to reach mass adoption between 2008 and 2010. Korea, pioneer of the DMB standards, and neighbours Japan which started the homegrown Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting – Terrestrial (ISDB-T) and 1-seg standards in 2006, are expected to stay top of the region in mobile video services consumption. Frost & Sullivan also identified Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand as markets that can potentially emulate the successes. The last twelve months saw significant mobile TV developments abound the region. In Singapore, broadcaster MediaCorp partnered mobile operator M1 for a trial Digital Video Broadcasting–Handheld (DVB-H) service to commence in mid-2008, while PGK Media flagged off its trial DVB-H service TV2GO during BroadcastAsia in June 2007 and was exhibited at the Asia Television Forum last November. Neighbouring Malaysia saw MiTV Corporation’s subsidiary U Mobile roll out its DVB-H service Mobile LiveTV to 5,000 trial users in November 2007 as its final phase of preparations towards commercializing its service. In the Philippines, telco Smart Communications and MediaQuest Holdings’ broadcast subsidiary MediaScape (formerly known as 360media Corp) launched fully operational DVB-H service myTV in July 2007, and is awaiting the finalized regulations from the National Telecommunications Commission to go commercial. India’s potential for mobile TV was identified by Singapore-based IT market research firm Springboard Research’s ‘Mobile TV in India: Understanding the Mobile Entertainment Needs of Indian Users’ report which projected the Indian mobile TV market to be worth up to US$360million by end-2008. It found 84% of mobile users to be waiting for an affordable mobile TV service in India, with news, sports, music videos, and game shows their preferred content. “The market is ripe for the launch of mobile TV services, and we believe that India will have around 12million mobile TV subscribers within the first year of launch of service,” analyzed Ravi Shekhar Pandey, manager, syndicated research, Springboard Research. Currently, an eight-channel pilot DVB-H service run by state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan and partner Nokia since May 2007, is available in New Delhi. 2008 saw Taiwan’s PTS-led consortium complete a one-year DVB-H trial. Consortium members including mobile operators Chunghua Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and FarEasTone, handset vendors Motorola and BenQ, and client software vendor Cyberlink are waiting for the National Communications Commission’s license policy to bring the service to market. “An optimistic timeline (should see) commercial licenses (granted) in the second half of 2008 and the service (kicked) off thereafter,” revealed PTS spokesperson Francesca Lai. Of greatest interest is China, given the size and potential of the populous market riding up the crest of an economic and technological boom brought by the upcoming Olympics being held August 2008 in Beijing. Having prescribed its home-grown China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB) standard, Jiang Wenbo, president of the Academy of Broadcasting Planning revealed that CMMB capability is ready in the six Olympic host cities, as well as in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Construction of UHF ground coverage networks was also reported to be underway in 35 municipal and provincial capital cities across China in early 2008. The service’s content is expected to include TV packages and value-added services such as stock information, weather forecasts and traffic updates. Content for mobile has also figured prominently over the past year as broadcasters and networks supplied channels including Bloomberg, CNBC Asia Pacific, CNN, National Geographic Channel, and ESPN among others to various mobile TV services, while made-for-mobile and re-purposed content has sprung up across the region. January 2008 saw Korea’s SK Telecom close a deal with Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) for films and TV series to be made available in full length over mobile VOD services NATE and June. The deal included movies The Da Vinci Code, Kungfu Hustle, Surf’s Up, and the Spider-Man trilogy, as well as TV series The Tudors, which added to series such as Sex and the City, Rome, and local dramas which were already available on the services. “Mobile technology is evolving and the way of consuming video content is changing fast. These changes are expected to encourage more and more customers to watch movies and dramas on their mobile phones. We will continue to expand our partnership with media companies to enrich mobile-based video content services,” noted Soo Hyeok Lee, VP, music business office, SK Telecom. Disney Channel debuted March 2008 its first made-for-mobile original short-form series As the Bell Rings in Singapore on the Disney Mobile Xtra subscription service on StarHub Mobile. Adapted from the global format Quelli dell’Intervallo, the comical live-action series follows the lives of a group of teenage students during breaks in school. Laura E. Wendt, VP and MD, Walt Disney Television International, Southeast Asia noted, “What is unique about this Singapore series is that it was created specifically for mobile streaming. The bite-size sitcom is a distinctly Singaporean adaptation of the hugely popular short-form series on Disney Channel Italy called Quelli dell’Intervallo, which now enjoys local adaptations in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Australia and China.” ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) also boosted its mobile offerings in December 2007 with STAR Sports Mobile, a mobile sports content service which offers goal and match video highlights, wallpapers, archive video clips and interviews, along with exclusive content from English football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool. The service also provides 3G streaming video highlights covering opinions, instructional tips and game reviews from original TV shows from the STAR Sports cable channel including ACE by Sony Ericsson, Engine Block, Golf Focus, Game and Top Corner. Wallpapers of presenters, ring tones and Java games were also made available. STAR Sports Mobile was initially launched in Indonesia on SPORTesia, PT Bakrie Telecom’s new sports mobile content platform. With the myriad mobile developments throughout Asia, the upcoming Mobile Content World Asia (MCWA) 2008 conference to be held May 5-7 at the Raffles City Convention Centre in Singapore looks to provide a timely consolidation of information and insights into mobile-based opportunities in the region. Now in its third year, MCWA 2008 continues to provide a platform for information exchange and extended business networking among industry players with experiences and expertise shared by invited speakers and peers addressing the need for effective monetization of mobile content and entertainment. Available prior to the main event is pre-conference masterclass to be held May 5 on mobile advertising and marketing, led by Geoffrey Handley, director, new business Asia Pacific, The Hyperfactory, and presented by Effendy Charles, manager, mobile services, StarHub. The MCWA 2008 conferences will see emerging trends of the mobile content and entertainment market explored through a multitude of case studies, panel discussions, and special focus groups sessions on the current and projected state of the regional mobile industry; customer experience and demands; entertainment and location based services, digital rights management (DRM) and regulatory issues, mobile advertising and marketing; as well as mobile content innovations including communities and search. Opening MCWA 2008 will be T. Kugan, head, products & infotainment business, Maxis Communications with his keynote on ‘Creating real value in the world of mobile content. Where are the opportunities?’ to assess the business drivers and barriers to growth in the convergent landscape, to define the role of the operator as a serious content player and pipe provider, as well as share successes on personalized caller ringtones, client development, and user generated content initiatives. A highlight of MCWA 2008 will be the panel discussion on ‘Cutting the mobile slice of the digital entertainment pie: challenges, strategies and the future’, which will feature content owner panelists including Nabil Hijazi, head, mobile content, Al Jazeera; Alan Seiffert, SVP, partnerships & business development, CNBC Asia; Ian Stewart, SVP, MTV Networks Asia; Ruuben van den Heuvel, VP, business development Asia, Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Asia) Inc.; and Ringo Chan, VP, wireless and interactive content, development and distribution, Turner International Asia Pacific, as they share their experiences of integrating mobile into the company’s overall digital strategy, partnership models and marketing strategies to consumer segments. The closing keynote by Colin Miles, EVP, i-POP Networks will address the issue of ‘Maintaining consumer excitement and achieving continued growth for the mobile content industry in Asia’ as he identifies the essential ingredients including DRM, technology and simplification for continued growth; new types of mobile content fuelling the industry in the near future; and projections of the Asian mobile content industry in 5-10 years.