Content Prophets: Floating Balloons for Wireless Content

Kevin Tsujihara, executive vice president of new media at Warner Bros., says that companies should create the content that makes the most sense given the medium. Someday, this "sense" will turn into dollars, he says.

Tsujihara views current wireless services as a promotional tool primarily with m-commerce potential. For instance, he says that content providers will need to offer the ability to purchase geo-targeted movie tickets immediately after viewing a trailer. He says that Warner Bros. also intends to develop games that use branded animated characters, because games have proven to be one of the more popular and profitable forms of content with current WAP users.

Tom Delucha, director of Internet operations and new media at Lions Gate Entertainment, agrees that wireless is a means to facilitate promotion, but adds that the studio is not necessarily against releasing full-length feature films for wireless distribution if there proves to be a market. "As a smaller studio, the more aggressive we are in this area the better the chances to level the playing field," says Delucha.

One aggressive company in this arena is Filmspeed.com, which offers downloads of full-length feature films like A Christmas Carol and horror classic Nosferatu, for PocketPC devices. But the movies are large and require extra device memory, so it’s mostly a proof-of-concept initiative.

The bottom line is that while wireless content and infrastructure are still in a nascent stage of development, several companies are looking to enhance their revenues by reaching customers as they run about their modern lives. "Streaming content is a tough sell unless you absolutely have to have it," says PacketVideo’s Tercek.