MUMBAI: Endemol chief creative officer Peter Bazalgette will open a series of events focusing on moble and cross-platform content at MIPCOM in Cannes, France. The event, christened as Mobile TV Day, kicks off on 19 October. Bazalgette will be delivering the keynote address.
In his speech, entitled "It's Digital Media, Not New Media, stupid!", Bazalgette will share his views on the future of digital media. He will also unveil Endemol's latest initiatives in mobile and cross-platform content.
Bazalgette rejects the term "new media" and comments, "The first TV broadcast on the internet happened 11 years ago in 1994; the first video-enabled mobile phone was available over two years ago, it's time to get on with it and start considering digital media as a place to sell more shows."
Endemol's Big Brother is now streamed 24 hours a day to mobiles in Italy, Scandinavia, the UK and the Philippines. The company also produces FanTESStic, a soap-opera exclusively for mobile phones and Totally Frank, a series for Channel 4 in the UK, that includes scripted drama for mobiles.
"In the past year, we have seen a huge increase in the amount of production and distribution deals between the traditional providers of television content and mobile operators and aggregators", said Paul Johnson, director of Reed MIDEM's Television Division. "Mobile TV Day at MIPCOM will provide an opportunity for our delegates to see the latest opportunities in mobile as a distribution medium."
On 19 October - Mobile TV Day - included in the MIPCOM 2005 conference programme, will feature a day of sessions on mobile television, including leading 3G operator case studies, a super panel on audiovisual mobile content distribution and brand marketing opportunities with mobile. A newly designed Made For Mobile Content Screenings programme will feature new entertainment content specifically made for mobile devices, states an official release.
Mobile TV Day at MIPCOM reflects the huge potential of emerging mobile content market. According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, the mobile content market will reach $70 billion worldwide by 2008 and Mobile video will represent $5.7 billion. The number of video enabled phones will grow from 65 million in 2004 to 712 million by 2008.
