‘Lesson Learned’ from FLO’s Demise: Mobile Video Viewers Want Free Content

LAS VEGAS -- Mobile video products won’t attract viewers without some form of free content, panelists at CES said late Thursday. Viewers want to have the same experience on their handsets as they have in the living room, and that includes free access to some of their favorite programming, said Diane Jovin, vice president of corporate marketing and business development for Telegent Systems, a mobile TV chipmaker. “Subscription fees can work for premium content, but it needs to be bundled with other types of content,” she said. The lack of free content is part of what doomed Qualcomm’s MediaFLO service, panelists said.

Other problems included the limited programming and VOD choices, devices that never caught on with consumers, and the high cost to watch programming that consumers may have already been paying for at home, said Vivek Khemka, vice president of customer technology for Dish Network. “I don’t think anyone wants to pay for the same content twice."

"The lesson learned is that it cannot all be paid and there needs to be free [content] as an anchor for customers to go to,” said Nanda Ramachandran, vice president of strategy and business development for Samsung. “A dedicated mobile DTV transmission signal and a paid service alone is a difficult choice for consumers.” Still, mobile video usage is exploding, and there will be a place for subscription fees on premium content, he said.

When broadcasters introduce mobile DTV service this year, they'll probably start by offering free service, said Executive Director John Lawson of the Mobile500 Alliance, a coalition of TV station owners hoping to build a business around mobile TV broadcasts. Subscription services may come later, he said. With new mobile DTV enabled devices coming this year from companies such as Samsung, broadcasters “think the American consumer will easily find mobile DTV and will create a consumer base that can lead to a number of business models,” Lawson said.

Sports programming has been very popular with Dish subscribers who have the ability watch the pay-TV content they get in their living room on Internet-connected devices, Khemka said. “A lot of people are using their mobile phones and iPads to catch up on live sports away from the home,” he said. “We see a lot of travelers using it.” The early adopters of the Dish product have been predominantly men, but over time their spouses have begun to use it more as well, he said.

Meanwhile, Dish is content to hold its 700 MHz spectrum licenses, Khemka said. “Spectrum is pretty good to have,” he said. “We make a lot of investments in all kinds of different spectrum,” and the 700 MHz spectrum’s propagation characteristics make it particularly valuable, he said. “It’s a strategic investment and the spectrum is good real estate.”