Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Make Way for the Mobisode

This is an intersection between video and mobile, with maybe a dash of reality TV thrown in. What it represents is short episodes specifically designed for viewing on mobile devices.Are people actually watching videos on their cell phones and PDA’s? Yes, according to newly-released data from Pew. When they asked about 10 activities beyond just talking on their phones, 77% of respondents said they had taken part in at least one of the activities at some time; 42% engaged in at least one activity on a given day. Text messages and taking pictures lead by a large margin, but watching videos is there. Given the absorption with all things video, one would expect that activity to continue to grow.

Assuming there is content designed for the small screen, that is. Sprint/CW/Warner Bros. TV have just announced a series of episodes made especially for mobile (mobisode) that will feature the Supergirl character from Smallville. It follows a successful series last year that featured the Green Arrow character from the same series.

In case you’re not a fan, Smallville is the story of young Clark Kent—before he became superman. It seems to have a robust cast of characters that should provide plenty of material for screens of all types.Overall, the service is a bit pricey, but it may be the wave of the future! Users want content, and they may even be willing to pay for entertaining games and videos. Spinning off short programming from successful longer series may be a reasonably low-risk way to penetrate this new and growing market.
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