IBC Daily News

by Chris Forrester. 
Terry Marsh, moderated Sunday's mobile content session on the 'Search for Killer Content‘…. Blakeslee said… …”The truth is there are four screens in our lives: cinema, TV, the PC and now the mobile - and while it has taken 15 years, the cellphone is the one screen that's in everyone's pocket. content producers are beginning to recognize this."

Terry Marsh, moderator of Sunday's mobile content session on the 'Search for Killer Content', interrogated IBC delegates with an instant quiz that threw up some fascinating responses - albeit from a partisan audience.

An impressive 78% of delegates agreed that the huge growth in mobile ownership would generate real opportunities for the content production sector (and only 3.7% disagreed).

They were also asked whether having network channels from the likes of the BBC, ITV and Sky would mean consumers couldn't say No to mobile's content proposition. This was much more contentious, with only 49% agreeing, 22% staying neutral and around 30% disagreeing - some vehemently. In other words, said Marsh, there was still work to do, and that mobile karaoke, while having some appeal, probably wasn't going to make too many producers rich.

However, there were other indicators that the mobile content community is making rapid strides. Ken Blakeslee from venture capital outfit WebMobility, reported that during the recent 7 July London bomb outrages, TV producers made "massive" use of users' video footage, with Sky News showing mobile clips on air with 20 minutes of the event, and the BBC using 50 images in the first hour. "News is very important, but so-called killer content is not a 'one size fits all' solution."

Blakeslee said Bluetooth's near-critical mass meant that innovation was now considerable. "I'm confident that this means watching movies will be very easy on 'virtual' screens soon from the mobile. The truth is there are four screens in our lives: cinema, TV, the PC and the mobile - and while it has taken 15 years, the cellphone is the one screen that's in everyone's pocket. Content producers are beginning to recognise this."