Mobile video is gaining traction but subscription-based mobile TV continues to struggle. However there are a few “brands” that could pull it off; Hulu is one of them. The NBC-Fox joint venture is preparing to launch a premium model (this month) and people continue to wait for a mobile version.
Subscription-based Netflix is moving ahead with mobile plans after the successful launch of its iPad app.
The US cable companies also have their cross-platform visions and plans. And now the Fox-backed Bitbop has launched. It’s a movie and TV streaming service for mobile devices — only BlackBerry for now. But other apps are coming. (The inclusion of movies is key to gaining acceptance of the subscription model.)
There are 25 content partners and a $10 per month premium version coming at some point. While the user experience is likely to be acceptable on the small screen — Bitbop apparently will work on 3G as well as WiFi — an iPad or Tablet version will likely be much better. But the larger idea represented by all these services and apps is “TV in the cloud” — anytime/anywhere. This option will drive some number of people to subscribe to a “mobile TV” service.
And with Internet TV poised (e.g., Google TV) to take off services like Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and possibly Bitbop become potential ways around cable fees.
Most people would rather pay $10 per month to watch their favorite shows and movies (even if delayed vs. cable and DVD) vs. $60 to $100 per month for premium cable. Of course none of these services offer sports, which is a big driver of cable subscriptions and retention.
Millennial: Coupons, Lead-Gen Hot on Network
Millennial Media just released its April SMART report. The company is now putting out two reports: Mobile Mix, which discusses devices and share on its network, and SMART, which is about advertiser tactics and categories.
Here are a few interesting excerpts from the April SMART document.
- Millennial Media claims 60 million unique users for its network out of 73 million total US mobile Web users (per Nielsen)
- Many marketers are using mobile as a lead-gen and/or a list building tool for future marketing via other channels. The top two types of actions featured in Millennial advertiser campaigns were “submit form” and “join/subscribe.” Those action types were closely followed, however, by “place call,” “application download” and “watch video.” (Mostly direct response actions.)
- 11% of the “campaign actions” on Millennial’s network involved social media in some way; driving to a company’s existing Facebook page for example.
- 16% of campaigns on Millennial’s network used geo-targeting.
- 13% of campaigns used rich media
Ten percent of advertisers in the “restaurants & retail” category used a coupon offer of some sort, according to Millennial.
Below is a drill down on that category and the various calls to action offered in the campaigns. We can probably count “retail promotion” in the deals/coupons category as well. In addition the “join/subscribe” call to action here will probably be teased in many instances by the promise of future discounts and deals notifications I’m guessing:
Finally here are the top advertising categories on the Millennial network:
One thing that’s somewhat surprising and interesting is that only 16% of campaigns are using any sort of geo-targeting given that mobile offers it with precision. This likely reflects concerns over lack of audience reach with geo-targeted campaigns or perhaps the inability of agencies to formulate geo-targeted campaigns for one reason or another.
Millennial data also suggest that marketers are using mobile at or near the point of sale to capture emails and other data for future marketing purposes (“join/subscribe” and “submit form”). However their campaigns don’t seem to equally be pushing users to the point of sale to drive purchases. I could be misinterpreting the data but if I’m correct is a missed opportunity.