theregoesdave

Telstra is the largest communications company in Australia, providing both phone and internet services as well as mobile products. They have recently announced that their users viewed over 80,000 hours of mobile TV in April. Their Foxtel by Mobile service gives subscribers access to video snippets from premier TV organizations via 3G connection to your mobile phone. I really like the model of cutting down the TV shows into a short chuck that’s more likely to get the point across within the very short attention spans of web and mobile users,

In April, Foxtel viewers watched over 80,000 hours of mobile TV. The top channels include FOX8, The Comedy Channel, Channel V and TV1 which are all entertainment programs. The really interesting thing here is that the viewers are primarily older viewers that are watching during prime time viewing hours. This could be business travelers checking in on their favorite shows while they’re away from their TV sets. I wonder if the limited demographic may be due to subscription costs as a barrier to entry.

I think this demonstrates the strong viability of mobile video in the coming year. Once most mobile web viewers have free access to video through Flash browser plugins, we could see mobile video usage skyrocket among users that are primarily accessing classifieds and social networking sites. Flash will also enable viewers to better surf their favorite streaming programs and video sharing sites more easily.

It’s exciting to watch the mobile web’s capabilities starting to come together. These early signs indicate that users have no qualms about mobile video. Now it’s just a matter of the browsers supporting Flash and the right format for easy navigation.

Read

• Will Video Be The Mobile Web Trend Of The Year?
• Tivo owners get a mobile web interface
• Is the Mobile Web for Weekend Warriors?