Mobile Video in 2006

January 20th, 2006 by Eric

Well, well, well. Mobile video is certainly touted even more this year. As trails are underway, deployments happening globally, are we really going to subscribe to mobile video? Just look at a screenshot of the MobiTV website! The amount of logos from programming to carriers, it’s certainly worth someone building up the infrastructure to push this mobile service.

Not to be outdone, Slingmedia has a completely different approach. Download a client to your phone (at this time, Windows Mobile) and you can watch what you already pay for or have recorded (a la DVR/PVR) anywhere. Personally, I like the idea of pushing programming that I already pay for to my phone, instead of paying twice via for what I get from my cable provider and a service like Verizon’s VCast. This way, I am only using the pipes, antennae and bits to watch what I’ve want. This potentially is far greater than companies like MobiTV’s ability to sign up partnerships and revenue sharing agreements with every channel globally. At that rate, I would rather pay for an unlimited data plan and flood my carrier’s networks with video packets directed towards my mobile.

Where content can make an impact is in original or “mobile-only” streams in order to capture people and get hooked on a series that appeals to people who have all that idle time to watch while they are going somewhere.

More to the point, mobile video is here to stay, however, we’re going to need to travel longer distances, improve public transportation and it’s relationship with carriers’ mobile wireless networks in order to really hit the mainstream. Otherwise, subterranean travel and potentially high-speed rail or certain types of air travel might not be as enjoyable. I just hope that we get the subscription prices low enough so that we don’t revolt and find free and illegal methods of watching/streaming our favorite shows. It might be Napster/Kazaa/eDonkey2000 all over again.