Modeo details TV trial findings, talks mediacasting

LAS VEGAS-Modeo L.L.C., which recently wrapped up a trial of its broadcast mobile TV service, said the 138 participants in the trial mostly gave positive reviews, according to the company’s presentation at the National Association of Broadcasters 2007 convention in Las Vegas.
The six-week trial formally began Jan. 30 in New York City with a mix of male and female professionals, students, parents and single adults, who gave feedback via an online user forum, four separate surveys and a post-trial focus group of 34 participants.
The Crown Castle International Inc. company declined to release all usage data on specific programming due to confidentiality agreements with content providers, though it noted that it put software on user devices to meter what people watched.
“We were very pleasantly surprised, frankly, with the response,” Modeo President Michael Ramke said. “Live TV is a very strong and leading selling point in this.”
Each of the six live TV channels-CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports, Discovery Channel and E-scored higher than 70 percent in overall satisfaction, he said, adding that one un-named channel stood out with 85 percent of users indicating that they were “very satisfied” with the channel.
Most viewers watched while commuting, waiting for appointments and during lunch and other breaks. Viewership peaked on Mondays then remained fairly consistent through Thursdays before a significant drop-off occurred on Fridays. Viewership continued to decline through the weekends, Ramke said.
Average use was around 23 minutes per session in the first few days of service, but eventually stabilized around an average 15 minutes per day.
“If the carrier were to have this level of usage delivered over their network, we’re talking about $45 a month in network costs,” Ramke added. “It doesn’t take a heck of a lot of usage to reach the break-even point.”
Furthermore, 64 percent of users were very satisfied with the overall coverage and reception clarity while 35 percent were satisfied. The service also seems to be contradicting fears of cannibalism within the television industry-52 percent said they watched more TV at home after watching the Modeo service.
“This broadcast-quality service really represents game-changing improvements,” Ramke said. “This is a huge step up from what we’ve seen today.” Modeo’s most glaring challenge, however, is that no carrier has yet said it plans to use the service.
Modeo mediacasting
Modeo also announced upgrades to its service, which essentially offer the same features as digital video recorders. Users can record, pause, rewind and fast-forward through shows, and can schedule the service to record future programming, with the content being stored on a memory card. Modeo refers to the offering as its mediacasting service.
The upgrades also enable users to further interact with the programming via click to vote, buy and inform options, including direct links to WAP sites related to the programming. Users will also be able to create a preference profile to highlight the type of programming they enjoy so the mediacasting service can record additional clips for the user, Ramke said.
“You have live and you have these cached shows,” he said. One channel dedicated to mediacasting would deliver an inventory of 280 five-minute shows, he said, adding that it “broadens our ability to reach our customers.”
Modeo demonstrated some live viewing on its branded handset during the company’s presentation, and showed attendees the range of new capabilities on the platform. “We think this is a really important functionality beyond just live,” Ramke said.
Television viewers are already accustomed to the enhanced features available to them at home, so the market already expects something beyond live television in the mobile environment, Ramke said. “They’re certainly expecting something beyond the old Watchman experience,” he said.
Although the mobile television programming was blurry on the projection monitor Modeo used to give conference attendees a look at the service, a close-up, personal use of the device showed a much clearer picture that is on par with offerings from counterparts at Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFLO USA.