These two companies have worked together to bring Olympic programming to a whole new level. What else would you expect in a world driven by mobile entertainment and accessibility? That’s right, the Olympics will now be available on your cell phone.

The CTV network will provide the programming, and Bell Mobility will provide the package. It’s a collaboration that will bring mobile access to a hosting country that has never before experienced Olympics-on-the-go.

“Consumers are consuming media completely different than they used to be,” said Pelley, “They really want to watch what they want, how they want, when they want. And it’s all about how you’re going to experience the Games.”

There was no wonder that Canadian media conglomerates would make such a move. It seems that nowadays media, no matter what the shape or size, is being pushed towards mobile accessibility one way or another. It also seems that, as consumers, we have become very adamant that whatever media we can consumer at home, must be available on the run. I’d like to address the age-old “chicken or egg” paradox. I think that after having followed the BuzzBox, if one were to read between the lines, something would become acutely evident: Our extreme and growing need for media on the go has compelled technology companies, networks and service providers to come up with very innovative ways to provide mobile information to the masses. We have to thank neither Apple nor LG, not even Bell or CTV for this new dawn of consumption. We can instead thank ourselves, the masses, those who can never sit still; those who have their eyes glued to their mobiles on busses, at work and in movie theatres. We, the Yth generation of media consumption made this shift possible for our children and grandchildren to come. So next time a teacher scolds you for texting during class or a cop pulls you over with your cell in hand, hold it up to the sky and be proud of what we’ve accomplished. We have made the world go mobile.

The past, when there were less than hundreds of channels. Where not all screens were flat. An age where people did not watch their television on the Internet. A time where there was only “definition”. Surely we have advanced from there.

According to this BBC report, we are not as far along as once thought. 30,000 people across the UK are still using black and white televisions. While that is a very small percentage of the population, it is certainly remarkable given that colour was first introduced over forty years ago.

The study also found that despite large advances in online television in the UK, namely the BBC iPlayer which allows users to access any BBC content on any form of mobile media, the most predominant form of telelvision watching is still in front of the chesterfield.

What this shows us is that despite the great leaps made by technology, there will always be those who are adverse to change. Despite new ways of looking at media, the customary uses will likely still permeate culture even though they may not be the easiest. Through this blog we have discovered that mobile media is on the rise, that television as we know it will not continue to exist.

What we can tell though, through this report and others, is that while the future of television is uncertain, and the technologies are exciting – the progress may not be as fast or as widespread as believed.

What we can conclude on is that people will always want to watch TV in any form they can.

Some information that has just started surfacing is the fact that Apple has the most ridiculous process for approving or improving new and old applications. The irrational approval process are driving developers into the ground with frustration. Surprisingly, Apple is pushing away some of its most dedicated and revenue generating partners away. Recently, the designer of the Facebook App, Joe Hewitt,  gave up on trying to fight with the 4 month application process  with the App Store.

And, as you’d expect, our man is not mincing his words, stating that his “decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple’s policies,” and that he’s “philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process.”

Not to worry though, the Facebook app will stay. Another colleague of Hewitt’s will take over, while Hewitt will focus himself on other projects. Such projects include web development for mobile devices. Just as everyone knows, there is no approval process for putting stuff on the internet. Hopefully Apple will open its eyes to the changes that have to be made. Having Facebook potentially walk out on you is well I’d say,  kind of a big deal.

An article in the New York Times last week by Miguel Helft reported that Google has acquired AdMob, a start up company working to place ads on mobile phones for $750 million. Google stated that the acquisition was required to speed up its efforts to develop more effective tools for creating and placing mobile ads on Smartphones and PDA’s.

“We see mobile as a huge growth opportunity for us,” Susan Wojcicki, vice president of product management at Google, said in an interview. “We see an opportunity working with AdMob to really accelerate our efforts in an important industry for Google.”

This is an important development; Google is moving quickly to embrace Smartphones as a viable media platform as well as a growing revenue generator. With advertising revenue dropping across the board however there is the possibility that it could turn out to be a bad gamble. The purchase however is relatively modest in comparison to others in the industry, third in terms of capital in fact. The purchase does not begin to match the $3.1 billion for DoubleClick, and advertising specialist, or even the $1.65 billion for YouTube. This purchase by Google, however is clearly an attempt to move as quickly as possible into advertisements for mobile media, a format already integrated into internet advertising, in which it holds the preponderance of the market.

“As Google’s core business of selling text ads has been slowing, the company has been looking for new areas to expand. In particular, Google is hoping to replicate its success in selling Web ads in the mobile arena. Google, which already sells ads on mobile phones, offers a wide variety of mobile phone applications and makes the Android software that some handset makers use to power their phones.”

The move makes sense for Google, dominating online advertising as it does, and moving into the mobile advertising is a no-brainer. However, it does raise some concerns with the amount of media convergence. Not only does Google control the bulk of advertising on the internet, it is attempting to convert this success in the realm of mobile media. Google’s release earlier this year of its Android operating system for Smartphones opens the possibility that Google, enormous as it is, could get even bigger, should Smartphones turn out to be the next big media format. With the Android operating system as the major competition to iPhone and Apple’s operating system it would appear that Google is positioning itself for a fight in the market of mobile media on smartphones.

“Founded in 2006, AdMob calls itself the “world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace.” The company, which has received $47 million in financing from venture capitalists and other investors, refused to disclose its revenue. But Omar Hamoui, the company’s founder and chief executive, said that sales had more than doubled in the last year. The company’s headquarters are in San Mateo, Calif., not far from Google’s. It employs about 140 people.”

“The law says that anyone who uses a TV, or any other device, to receive TV signals, must buy a licence…You will also need a licence if you use your computer to watch live broadcasts.”

What this means is that if a household own a television already, this can be considered a valid licence to view content. However, if a household doesn’t possess a television, a licence must be purchased. Who is affected? The millions of people who stream live content to their computers and mobile devices. Am I the only person who thinks this is a completely ridiculous concept? Actually, the term I would choose to use is money grab!

Here’s a BBC blog that touches on the subject.

Not only are private households being targeted by this attempt to control the masses, but businesses are also being pinpointed.

“Businesses are less likely to have TVs, and are therefore less likely to possess a licence – so the Licensing Authority wants to clamp down on employers who let their staff watch the World Cup online.”

With the advent of successful Internet advertising and the dynamic nature of television content these days, it’s disappointing that government agencies will go to such extents to constrict and control the viewing habits of a generation that will help mold the way we consume media. How they plan on enforcing such an outlandish law is a mystery of its own. It reminds me of a concept that I discussed earlier in the BuzzBox. Whichever group of lobbyists that decided on this regulation is clearly scared that mobile Internet will take away from their precious, outdated traditional viewership which all comes down to the fear of losing money.  What they don’t understand is that it’s been shown that no amount of laws or regulations will keep the people from getting what we want, nor will they have the ability to control how we get it. I can say with confidence that we will consume media as we see fit.

For the £6 monthly subscription fee, consumers have access to a couple of sports networks and a dedicated news channel. Doesn’t seem like much, but this is the service that has sparked an alleged 250 000 subscribers to the Sky service, says a Sky spokesperson. However, every silver cloud has a spot of tarnish. The catch is that the Sky service takes more bandwidth than can be provided over a 3G cellular network. This means that Sky TV can only be used if the iphone is connected to a wifi signal. Most large cities have an abundance of wifi hotspots, but it all begs the question: is this real mobile media? Isn’t the true definition of mobile TV that you can access it on the go, wherever you can get a cellular signal? That question has a subjective response. Perhaps we haven’t quite reached true mobile television, but once again, the iphone has aided in a pivotal and notable advance.

Check out the full article here

The predominate form this convergence has taken has been through watching television on one’s computer. The limitations of this are obvious, and include size of screen and video quality.

Another manifestation of the convergence is third party Web to TV adapters, such as the Apple TV. The problem with these is the difficulty encountered by large segment of the population that are not so tech-savvy and would be alienated and overwhelmed by the multiple boxes and remotes.

Now, as USA Today reports, Television makers Sony, Samsung, LG, Vizio and other companies are ready to make TVs with built in capabilities for web access a priority.

Currently, Web TVs account for a mere 14% of the market, but these corporations hope that their new strategy will bump up the percentage to 69% in four years. That is astounding growth for a concept that has been slow to take off.

Matthew McRae, General Manager of Vizio, explains this rapid growth by stating that WebTV will be seen as an innovation on par with the cellphone or computer. It is very easy to be skeptical of this hyperbole.

Manufacturers themselves concede that viewers want to have televisions as televisions, not computers. TV users cannot handle the complication associated with an inherently attentive medium like the Internet. TV is far too passive, and companies should be focused more on creating better OnDemand services that are unique and better suited to television than by emulating other more hands-on media like the web.

It appears, at least for the time being that there may be an answer for this issue. This answer comes in the form of a service referred to as “TV Everywhere”.  “TV Everywhere” according to Time Warner Inc. CEO Jeff Bewkes as outlined in the article, “Data Files To Trademark ‘TV Everywhere’ Satellite Provider Gearing up to Launch Slingbox-Based Set-Top” By Multi channel news’ Todd Spangler ” “TV Everywhere ‘encompasses Web-based video services available only to pay-TV subscribers provided through cable, satellite or telco TV operators in cooperation with programmers”. This service gives the consumer the ability to watch the content they subscribe to regularly on their TV anywhere they can receive the internet thus converging the two markets  in a way that could possibly help to keep more customers on the subscription services. Currently several companies incorporate this service in one form or another, including companies like; Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Verizon Communications and DirecTV as well as Rogers in Canada whose service will jump start later this year.

These services appear to be, at the very least a creative way of adapting to the changes in consumer habits that have led to the vast increase in online television content viewing, this has potential to help retain consumers, however it will not last forever and some more drastic developments will have to take place in order to keep subscription cable and satellite consumers. The aforementioned article deals with an interesting development that has led to EchoStar communications filing for a trademark on the term “TV Everywhere” for its new Sling-Box based service that will allow them to take the television content and broadcast it in many ways including the internet and over the mobile device.  For broadcasters this could be a huge step in the right direction because it caters to the online and mobile consumer in a way that is relatively new, the problem however is that it cuts out the content owners from the equation.

Despite the flaws in the service possibilities being put out onto the market it is clear that companies and corporations are making any effort they can to catch up to the new online age and online market. These examples serve as positive steps in the right direction well on the way to an extremely interesting future for the television Industry and its consumers.

Jim Lanzone, Clicker’s chief executive, the former chief executive of Ask.com described his new product by saying simply, “If you created TV Guide in 2009 instead of 1953, you’d create something like this,” The search engine will work by finding any matching video to the keywords you choose to search which goes beyond just television shows but by searching for your favourite actors you can find specific appearances they had on talk shows and other guest appearances. This new catalogue should be extremely helpful due to the way in which it was put together, Jim Lanzone studied other search engines and based his new engine to work where other existing engines falter.

The concept of an online TV guide hammers home the reality of the television market, that the present and future of TV content has moved away from the television set itself it now exists on the internet being broadcast through various websites and services both legally and illegally, available on your laptop or mobile devices including IPods and cell phones. The online TV guide itself is more than just a useful search engine for our times; it is a representation of how the consumer has changed the market. By first pirating content on the net which forced networks and content owners to develop ways to combat pirating and years later, we have an online TV guide to sort through the results of their responses. It is the very usefulness of the online TV guide that signifies that times have changed and that TV’s future will rest at least, in some capacity on the internet.

AdMob is network service that offers over a hundred million ads over about 15,000 web sites which are accessible over mobile phones. It works by delivering visual ad messages or display advertising to your mobile browser on various website. This concept of display advertising is something that Google has not been very big on in the past. Google makes most of its money off of a text based ad which appear on the results page when something is searched on Google on your PC. Despite the past, Google has recently expressed interest in using display ads which tend to be used more often by large companies who wish to market their brands. The purchase of AdMob comes with several existing advertisers such as Coca-Cola co, Ford Motor Co. And Procter & Gamble Co which combined with the advertisers already endorsed by Google should lead to some positive revenue for Google.

With mobile advertising expected to rise from $416 million this year to $1.6 billion in 2013 Google has definitely jumped in at the right time. The purchase will coincide with Google’s new mobile phone operating system Android which will feature Google’s own advertising channel.

With the influx of television content being made available online and via your mobile phone one of the most pressing questions related to this new phenomenon is how revenue would be generated by the companies involved in these services. We are still in the early stages of this emerging and changing market however it appears that we have our first answer, and as usual Google has been one of the first to answer it.  The future still remains relatively uncertain but the advertising seal has been broken and it’s a matter of time before the floodgates open, other companies will follow suite and advertising on your mobile phone browser will become the norm just as it is on your home PC. This being said the future of content is still up in the air; however with the precedent being set perhaps TV networks will follow in Google’s footsteps with their own form of advertising, only time will tell.