C2Mmonthly

A hitherto barely mentioned areas of the mobile video market could well be one of its most profound: that is how to find video content. In this Q&A, Steve Ives, CEO and founder of Taptu challenges the conventional wisdom around search.

What is the general state of the mobile TV and mobile video market?
Where we are seeing traction is with video content in the entertainment search sector. Video content is steadily gaining traction with users of Taptu’s search engine; better devices, better data rates and better content available are all factors. The desire to share videos and images with friends and family via the mobile phone is reflected in the rise of recreational searches being carried out by consumers. We have seen Taptu's video content segment more than double in two months; partly due to Taptu's extremely fast-paced growth as well as the increase in popularity of video content. We expect a hundred-fold increase in the number of videos being consumed by our users in a year from now.

Why has the market grown to the extent (or lack of it) thus far on a worldwide basis, or with reference to a particular region?

The market for mobile content is increasing exponentially. However, four main factors are holding back the full-fledged development of mobile video. Firstly standardisation is a common growing pain of any technology, and mobile video, like all others, has to go through the VHS vs Betamax, BluRay vs HD-DVD battle. In the case of mobile TV, the two main standards are DVB-H and MediaFLO. It is merely a case of watching and seeing which standard the mobile market supports and finally adopt as a collective. Meanwhile, the video streaming standards are fairly set, with most handsets being able to handle mpeg and/or 3GP. A next real consideration is the content itself. When entertainment happened at the theatre and the TV came in, they put a camera at the back of a theatre and broadcasted that. The same is happening with TV and mobile video. The content will need to be different; video podcasts, shorter pieces of content, different approach. Video content needs to be built for the mobile phone not just repurposed from the desktop. There is still an issue from operators regarding how much data can travel around their networks, as some of them don’t have the capacity to support large amounts of data activity. As a result of this operators are reluctant to encourage streaming video, as it would weigh heavily on their network.

Finally the handset itself is another factor holding back the market. Screens are generally very small and leave you squinting at the image. This combined with poor resolution has contributed to the mobile market not yet being ready for mass video consumption. Although, Apple’s iPhone beats other screens by bringing in its own standard, the user experience is still compromised. Until the quality of viewing video content on the mobile screen improves, user demand will not significantly grow in this region of the mobile market.

What will be the likely key elements in market growth-how important will content be in this?
No matter how good the technology becomes, if the content isn’t compelling enough for users, there will not be a significant increase in consumers searching for mobile video – and finding the experience exciting enough to return. At the moment content isn’t bespoke for mobile and can sometimes be a bit clumsy on a small screen; but end user demand for mobile content means more people are willing to deal with bumps in the road in order to get to it. Also, if the price is right then regardless of the quality of mobile video, your early adopters will always be willing to try out new services.

How well can mobile video content be accessed right now – why is this?
Accessing mobile video content at the moment can sometimes be difficult. There are many handsets and many networks, which means that the market is very fragmented. Operators have different regulations on what they’ll let through on their network and can often leave consumers frustrated by what they can and can’t download. Tim Hyland from YouTube recently aggregated data that shows that as many as a third of European operators block the RTSP protocol through which video can be streamed. With this in mind, it is no surprise that consumers can sometimes be reluctant to access video content from a mobile after one bad experience. Until operators choose to embrace mobile TV and play ball with the content producers, then growth in this area of the mobile market will not see any significant pick-up.

What needs to happen to make easier the search for content?
Video, unlike text-based content, doesn’t contain keywords and tags by default. The content owners, in particular in the case of user-generated videos, are responsible for associating the right keywords to their content. Unless this metadata gathering is improved, video remains more challenging to index. Once identified, the key to making search easy is cooperation between content producers and distributors. For example, Taptu is working with partners offering them a search API which enables them to distribute their mobile friendly content on a larger scale. It’s about providing a service that not only benefits the end user but also the partner sites. Mobile social networks are a great example of this collaboration and consumer accessibility to content. Social sharing of results will allow for a higher frequency of usage and fortify on-device portals, creating an attractive proposition for the carrier.
Consumers also need to be educated on the costs of video on their phones, as our voxpop interviews show that most mobile users are nervous about the costs they’ll incur when using the mobile web.

What are the intrinsic challenges in making this happen?
Searching for content needs to be made intelligent. This means putting control back in the users’ hands and allowing them to get to where they want without wasting time. We’re impatient beings, so the less clicks and scrolls it takes to find what you want, the better the experience.
Sharing content from the mobile web has become a focus point for many consumers; with a surge of activity amongst people accessing social network sites such as Facebook and YouTube on their mobile phone. Therefore, making search social is simply the next evolutionary step in mobile search. By making mobile search social, consumers can make recommendations to their friends and peer groups about what’s in, what’s hot and what’s not!

How will future technologies – in particular video search affect the market development?
Mobile social search is set to challenge the conventions of current search and the way we access content. With operators putting restrictions on download size from the web, sharing links to and accessing video content via mobile social networks can offer a legitimate solution. Search is no longer set to be dominated by its PC ancestor. Mobile search is all about content rather then specific keywords. When we talk about video search we are really talking about a service incorporated into a much wider remit. There is no ignoring the social connotations of looking for and sharing video content. With social search gaining pace on the mobile handset, so will video search. It is only a matter of time before operators take note of what is driving traffic and look to see how this can be monetised. With the chance to increase revenue share, carriers will soon see that it is in their best interests to provide greater data capacity through their networks making video download more accessible.

But ultimately what will likely be the successful business model?
Mobile video seems likely to follow the ad-funded model, certainly where search engines are involved, as well as pay-per-view, which is a model UK network Three, amongst others, is already using for user-generated content. Mobile TV will probably take a different approach with subscription for premium content like sporting events. Free-to-air content for some channels is bound to take the ad-funded approach as it’s a tried and tested model – as long as the resources are genuinely useful for the users. By using social pages to link to public or social online spaces such as YouTube or Facebook, the mobile versions of these simply add a new dimension in our demand for content. As demand for greater content increases accessibility to video content will improve, in turn leading to a sharp rise in growth in this area of the market. It is only a matter of time before one operator takes on the challenge of progression and gives consumers what they really want.