Despite the widely recognized success of Amp’d Mobile Inc.’s large portfolio of original content, a source at the company has told RCR Wireless News that less than 1% of the company’s nearly $400 million total budget was spent on such endeavors.
This revelation, which came as the failed mobile virtual network operator was completely shutdown last week, indicates that very little priority was placed on original entertainment programming even as executives tried to highlight the category as something that set it apart from other players. Amp’d Mobile spent additional money on content and entertainment deals that went beyond in-house produced content, but still an inconsequential $3 million was spent in an area that delivered the company its highest accolades.
The irony now is that analysts generally view Amp’d Mobile’s content holdings among its greatest assets awaiting the auction block, despite the relatively low investment the MVNO put into the division. However, since the contracts for Amp’d Mobile’s original content are tied to per-user fees and other formulas pulled from typical carrier-involved obligations, the economics of the current agreements would only translate to another carrier, not an aggregator of content or a mobile entertainment provider.
Content, staff up for grabs
The company’s assets, according to bankruptcy court filings, include its inventory of handsets and accessories, equipment from its state-of-the-art production studio, office equipment and copyrighted content. The court filings list more than 117 episodes of original copyrighted material available for sale, all pulled from 13 separate shows or special segments.
The content includes 16 episodes of “Venice Beach,” seven episodes of “Lil’ Hollywood,” seven episodes of “Lil’ Bush,” eight episodes of “Iron Lunch Lady,” 35 episodes of “Hot Dish,” five episodes of “Fashion Sense,” nine episodes of “DoggyStyle,” 16 episodes of “Bush: Stinky or Sweet,” and 10 episodes of “Gold Diggers,” among others.
Amp’d Mobile proved that content can differentiate in mobile with an industry-leading data ARPU of about $25-$30 per month among paying customers, but it failed in areas such as billing, customer care and operations, according to the source who only spoke to RCR Wireless News on condition of anonymity.
This follows a growing industrywide sentiment that operators will be hard pressed to achieve success around content alone. Still, many recognize Amp’d Mobile for its industry-leading programming lineup and see value in a like-minded blueprint going forward.
The Amp’d Mobile content team made its mark right out of the gates as it brought on veteran producers, actors, directors and other proven Hollywood talent to create more than 20 original shows like “Lil’ Bush,” which Amp’d Mobile last year sold to Comedy Central. “Lil’ Bush” has now gained notable success on its new TV outlet.
Big Hollywood studios and networks are reportedly recruiting the Amp’d Mobile team as established media looks to further expand its sphere of influence in mobile.
Amp’d Canada/Amp’d Japan
As Amp’d Mobile continues through the auction process, the future of its international offshoots, Amp’d Canada and Amp’d Japan, remain in flux. The former’s chances of moving forward are in serious doubt after its only partner carrier, Telus Mobility, discontinued the Amp’d brand from its lineup and shut down all related storefronts and content.
Telus Mobility told its dealers to stop selling Amp’d branded handsets Aug. 1 and are in the process of transitioning all of their Amp’d customers over to Telus-branded devices, spokeswoman Julie Smithers said. Telus Mobility wouldn’t disclose how many subscribers are receiving service under the Amp’d Canada brand, but the service only got off the ground a few months ago.
Telus Mobility said it will be offering those customers a free Telus-branded handset or a sizeable discount on other devices, Smithers added. In the interim, the Canadian carrier plans to continue to provide voice and messaging services to its Amp’d Canada customers, but they are no longer able to access Amp’d Live content.
“The Amp’d Live content was only available to Amp’d customers,” Smithers said. “We felt it was best for our customers, due to the uncertainty in the United States.”
Multiple sources close to the company said they don’t believe Amp’d Canada will see the light of day again; while it appears Amp’d Japan has the potential to be bought by a new suitor.
Amp’d Japan is a standalone portal that provides content to wireless subscribers regardless of the carrier, making the burden of carrying the company onward much more manageable. Still, whoever buys the company will have to produce and distribute their own content following the sale.
According to sources close to the company, there is already a lot of interest in Japan with numerous offers on the table.
Neither Amp’d Canada nor Amp’d Japan were included in the recent Amp’d Mobile bankruptcy proceedings, but with the funding all dried up there was little to go on without an acquisition from another party.
