Monday, April 20, 2009

Mobile TV - Are we making it harder than it needs to be?

I just finished reading the Juniper Research blog by Dr. Windsor Holden about mobile TV standards. My favorite part is about how a new standard has just been adopted, but there is not a single phone that supports it. Each carrier/cable company tries their own version & none have done particularly well.

Maybe it's time to look at what is already there. The Web. All smartphones already have an HTTP browser. And I suspect most phones (for anyone wishing to access data services) will have a Web (vs. carrier-only) browser within the next few years. The Web is a ready-to-use distribution channel for all kinds of media formats & content. And while bandwidth and performance remain an issue if everything was to turn on (in mass) today, they are steadily improving. Current mobile TV adoption rates - at least here in the US - are so low, that I don't see the Internet crashing from too much mobile TV viewing, anytime soon.

Media players already exist for PC/laptop TV viewers. Perhaps its time to look at mobilizing the technology that is already accepted by consumers of online media and put as much effort and funding into mobilizing existing standards vs. each carrier and cable company trying to create it's own unique distribution channel and supporting technology.

I'm all for innovative, disruptive technology and I'm not suggesting that these companies shouldn't innovate. I just think they need to look beyond their own doors to a world of possibilities that are designed to be used by the masses and not just one company or one set of customers. IPTV, in whatever form it takes, has a much better chance of mass adoption than any closed network solution. It can be previewed by everyone, but monetized via subscriptions or pay-per-view. It can be connected for billing/analysis to any back-end infrastructure accessible via SOA and a Web connection.

Sometimes the simple answers are the best...