Category: Software

MUMBAI: US media firm Discovery Communications has launched its US direct-to-consumer mobile website.

This allows consumers to download wallpapers, ring tones, podcasts and other special features directly to their cell phones through the mobile URL at www.discoverymobile.com.
 
Discovery’s fans can now personalise their cell phones with a wide assortment of ring tones including nearly 30 different animal sounds and Animal Planet’s Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin saying “G’Day Mate.” Additionally, consumers can choose from wallpapers ranging from over a dozen kinds of sharks to tattoos from TLC’s hit series Miami Ink.

Highlighting both current hit shows as well as programming genres that viewers have come to know and love from Discovery such as nature, science, exploration and animals, the mobile website also offers previews, scheduling information and short-form video clips.

Discovery executive VP strategy and development Don Baer says, “Our new mobile portal is the latest example of our strategy to expand the Discovery universe and provide consumers with informative and entertaining content and useful features when and where it fits their lifestyles”.
 
Designed to complement its television networks by strengthening viewers’ loyalty as well as attracting new audiences to Discovery’s brands, the mobile portal offers programming extensions that consumers can use while on-the-go. The features range from recipes and corresponding grocery lists from TLC’s new series Take Home Chef to fashion tips from the hosts of What Not To Wear. Pregnancy calendars, health tips and smoking cessation guides related to Discovery Health will also be added in the near future.

Discovery senior VP, new media Clint Stinchcomb, says, “Whether it’s a busy parent trying to feed the kids or a teenager looking to put a personal touch on their cell phone, our mobile portal is a way for consumers to simplify, enhance and enjoy their lives with Discovery features at their fingertips.”

Features on Discovery’s new mobile portal also include:

• Downloadable ring tones, wallpaper and podcasts from Discovery favorites such as Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, TLC’s Miami Ink and Animal Planet’s The Crocodile Hunter, as well as over two dozen animal sounds and a variety of breathtaking nature scenes from around the globe, among others. The cost per download is $1.99.

• Discovery News text reports offering information in the areas of science, nature, health, travel, all things about planet earth and current affairs. Updated daily, Discovery News offers perspective and commentary from multiple sources including the company’s in-house development and editorial team and Associated Press Television News.

• Fan sites where consumers can view exclusive video clips, learn more about on-air personalities and access program schedules.

• Short-form spotlights of shows from Discovery’s entire family of U.S. networks offering program descriptions and scheduling information.

Discovery’s mobile portal can be accessed from any US network through the mobile URL at discoverymobile.com. The company will also introduce Discovery Mobile, a dedicated, 24-hour mobile programming network designed specifically for portable platforms available through mobile carriers this quarter. Updated weekly, Discovery Mobile will push content to consumers such as original made-for-mobile series, abbreviated versions of Discovery’s most popular programs, never before seen footage, one-of-a-kind extras and user-generated content.

The launch of the US mobile portal builds on Discovery’s strong foundation of success in the international mobile marketplace where it has already launched a direct-to-consumer mobile portal in the UK. Discovery Mobile is available in nine countries. The company also has a global partnership with Nokia, which carries customized Discovery content on its newest and most sophisticated devices.

This announcement follows a series of new media initiatives Discovery has recently unveiled. Discovery has been launching new services and working with strategic partners to bring its high-quality, informative and entertaining content to consumers wherever they are and whenever they want it.

Discovery says that it is the first media company to provide its world-class video content on Google Earth, the revolutionary satellite imagery-based mapping product, and the first nonfiction programmer to offer video content through the iTunes music store. Discovery also launched the first of its U.S. broadband channels: Discovery Channel Beyond, TLC Beyond, Travel Channel Beyond and Animal Planet Beyond, as well as the new TURBO broadband channel.

MUMBAI: Even as the big media companies gather their forces for the upcoming battles for mind share in the new digital world, each are going about it in different ways. The aim is common to all of them though – multiplatform strategies of building an engaging universe of music, gaming, entertainment, news and interactivity for targeted audiences.

And, while India may not be where the major digital battles are fought any time in the near future, MTV for one is attempting to stay ahead of the curve and preparing for more change by introducing new mobile and online services for the ‘networked generation’.
 
For MTV Networks International senior vice president (digital media) Gideon Bierer, with opportunities unfolding, the country is approaching an inflexion point as regards the digital content delivery story. Bierer believes that new digital services will begin to be introduced in a significant way from next year on but it could take anywhere between three to five years for it to get serious penetration in India.

Queried about revenue streams, Bierer said that like in television subscriptions and advertising would form the main component and digital services also offered revenue opportunities through transactions.

For MTV, the aim is clearly to be the first mover in the digital space and helping it respond to changing tastes and compete with the internet and downloading could be channels like Flux, where the schedule is driven by the public. Flux, the multi-platform social-networking digital service originated by MTV Networks International in Japan last June, is launching in the UK & Ireland markets on 6 September. It is also being introduced in Italy around the same time.

Flux is positioned as a digital community and content integrated youth service that enables viewers to access short videos and music through their mobiles or computers, make recommendations to others and provide feedback. The channel will be aiming to attract the key 13 to 34-year-old demographic.

There is also the hybrid channel MTV Overdrive launched last April. Available through mtv.com, the initiative is aimed at entertaining viewers with both a linear viewing experience and video on demand capabilities in one web-based application. MTV Overdrive‘s lineup features news, music, on tv and movies among the services it offers.

Now while all this sounds very nice, what a certain Rupert Murdoch would have to say about all this remains to be seen. For in the west where the digital skirmishes are already on in full swing, it is News Corp‘s Myspace that is creating the most frenzy among the demographic that MTV has “owned” for nigh on 25 years. In India, only time will tell whether MTV is able to square up to the Star juggernaught, which has already declared aggressive intent in this domain.

MUMBAI: In the 30 years of video game development, the art of making console games has been reserved for those with big projects, big budgets and the backing of big game labels.

Now software major Microsoft is bringing this art to the masses with a new set of tools, called XNA Game Studio Express, based on the XNA platform.
 
XNA Game Studio Express will democratise game development by delivering the necessary tools to hobbyists, students, indie developers and studios alike to help them bring their creative game ideas to life while nurturing game development talent, collaboration and sharing that will benefit the entire industry.

During his keynote presentation a few days ago at Gamefest 2006, a Microsoft game developer event hosted by Microsoft in Seattle, Microsoft GM game developer group Chris Satchell announced details of the new technology, which will be broadly available this holiday season.

XNA Game Studio Express will be available for free to anyone with a Windows XP-based PC and will provide them with Microsoft‘s next-generation platform for game development. By joining a ‘creators club‘ for an annual subscription fee of $99 users will be able to build, test and share their games on Xbox 360 and access a wealth of materials to help speed the game development progress. This represents the first significant opportunity for novice developers to make a console game without a significant investment in resources.

During his keynote, Satchell talked about academic institutions that are lining up to include XNA Game Studio Express in their course offerings.

Also showcased was the work of key XNA supporters Autodesk and GarageGames. Through the Microsoft XNA relationship with Autodesk, the leading provider of 3-D authoring software, game developers and enthusiasts can now more easily incorporate content into XNA Game Studio Express via Autodesk‘s FBX file exchange format.

Joining Satchell on stage was GarageGames president Mark Frohnmayer who showcased ports of its next-generation Torque tools and technology over to the XNA Game Studio Express platform.
 
By providing a development environment based on Visual Studio Express and .NET that simplifies the integration and use of game content, XNA Game Studio Express makes game development easier to accomplish for smaller projects, strongly increasing the chance for great game ideas to make it out of the concept stage and into the hands of gamers everywhere.

The XNA Game Studio Express beta will be available from 30 August 2006, as a free download on Windows XP, for development on the Windows XP platform. XNA Game Studio Express will give anyone with a Windows XP-based PC access to a unified development tool that liberates the creation of great Xbox 360 and Windows XP-compatible games, providing a new alternative to the existing multithousand-dollar development kits that many console games require. The final version of XNA Game Studio Express will be available this holiday season.

Satchell said, “XNA Game Studio Express will ignite innovation and accelerate prototyping, forever changing the way games are developed. By unlocking retail Xbox 360 consoles for community-created games, we are ushering in a new era of cross-platform games based on the XNA platform. We are looking forward to the day when all the resulting talent-sharing and creativity transforms into a thriving community of user-created games on Xbox 360.

Not only will XNA Game Studio Express turn the community into creators, but a second XNA toolset geared toward game development professionals is scheduled to be available next year, fundamentally changing the way commercial games are developed.

From students at colleges, universities and high schools of the future to the proverbial “guys in the garage,” Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express will liberate anyone with a great game idea to create titles for Xbox 360 and Windows XP simultaneously. More than 10 universities and their game development schools — including University of Southern California, Georgia Tech College of Computing and Southern Methodist University Guildhall — have already pledged to integrate console game development and XNA Game Studio Express into their curricula for the first time, and Xbox 360 will be the only console at the center of all coursework.

MUMBAI: National Geographic Channels International has announced the launch of a new wildlife channel Wild. It will debut first on Hong Kong‘s Now broadband TV platform, ahead of its global rollout.
 
National Geographic Wild launches on Now TV on 21 August 2006. Wild will be National Geographic‘s first bilingual channel, offering a choice of either English or Cantonese soundtrack. Wild was unveiled yesterday at a preview in Hong Kong Wetland Park by National Geographic herpetologist Dr Brady Barr.
 
Among the slate of programmes the channel will be showcasing include, Croc Chronicles; Snake Wranglers; Kill Zone; Built for the Kill; Beauty and the Beast Leopard Story and Zambezi Troop.

Zubin Gandevia, managing director and executive vice president, National Geographic Channel Asia said, “For many years, National Geographic Channel has brought high calibre and entertaining documentaries of all genres to Hong Kong viewers. Hong Kong is a very important market for us and we are delighted to introduce a channel in the local language for our viewers here. National Geographic Wild marks a new milestone in our commitment to Hong Kong.”

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Viacom and Adobe Systems have announced a strategic alliance to develop and deliver Viacom’s branded content using the Adobe Engagement Platform.

Through this agreement, Adobe will become Viacom’s preferred technology provider for rich media authoring tools and interactive online video solutions. This will enable Viacom to deliver content from its television, motion picture and digital properties to online and mobile audiences in compelling ways. The two companies will also work together in developing new media applications leveraging Viacom’s exclusive content and using Adobe’s next-generation developer tools and ubiquitous cross-platform client software.

The Adobe Engagement Platform is a versatile foundation for capturing and holding audiences’ attention through more active and effective applications and media. Through the combined reach of the Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash Player clients, which are installed on more than 600 million connected PCs and devices worldwide, the Platform enables businesses to connect with customers, no matter which medium they choose.
 
Viacom president and CEO Tom Freston says, “This partnership with Adobe is an important step towards ensuring that our company has the most robust and state of the art online and mobile video applications. We are very excited to be working so closely with Adobe, which is a real innovator with a great track record”.

Viacom will utilise Flash video as an interactive online video solution and provide Viacom-branded content to mobile phone handsets via FlashCast™ channels. Flash video delivers secure, high-quality seamless video experiences. FlashCast is a flexible client-server solution that effectively delivers rich, intuitive branded experiences on mobile devices. Using Adobe technology, Viacom will also develop entirely new applications leveraging content from Viacom properties including MTV, Comedy Central, Spike TV and Nickelodeon.

Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen says, “Adobe and Viacom share a vision for how to bring Viacom’s world-class programming and content to online and mobile audiences in innovative ways. This relationship and the Adobe Engagement Platform will accelerate Viacom’s ability to create and deliver new kinds of digital entertainment across different mediums, regardless of which operating system, browser or device viewers are using. Our Engagement Platform is continuing to gain momentum as a powerful means of reaching and connecting with consumers on their terms, anytime, anyplace.”

MUMBAI: British media regulator Ofcom has just released its annual Communications Market Report revealing new trends in the television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications industries.

The key finding of the report is that there is a radical shift in media consumption happening, particularly among what it describes as a new ‘networked generation’.
 
This generation, comprising mainly 16-24 year olds, is turning away from television, radio and newspapers in favour of online services, including downloadable content – used on multiple devices such as iPods and mobile phones – and actively participating in online communities.

According to the report, television is of declining interest to many of this age group; on average they watch television for one hour less per day than the average television viewer. Of the television they do watch, an even smaller proportion of their time is spent viewing public service broadcasting channels, down from 74 per cent of total viewing among this age group in 2001 to 58 per cent today. Instead, the internet plays a central role in daily life; more than 70 per cent of 16-24 year old internet users use social networking websites (compared to 41 per cent of all UK internet users) and 37 per cent of 18-24 year olds have contributed to a blog or website message board (compared to 14 per cent of all UK internet users).

The same group also uses mobile phones extensively, on average making seven more calls and sending 42 more texts per week than the wider UK population.

Extensive use of the internet has also influenced 15-24 year olds’ consumption of other media. Their radio listening is lower, by an average of 15 minutes a day compared to the wider population; additionally, 27 per cent of those surveyed said they read newspapers less as a consequence of their online usage.

TELEVISION
In an important change in habits, viewers in Freeview households now spend more time watching digital-only channels than any one of the five main public service broadcasting channels BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and five. However, the public service broadcasters’ own digital-only channels (such as BBC3, ITV2 and More4) continue to grow their audience share, gaining nearly 6 percentage points of total viewing between 2001 and 2005.

Subscription revenue remains the largest source of funding for commercial television, with 2005 revenues up by 8.5% to ?3.9 billion for all pay TV services, ?343 million more than total net television advertising revenues for the same period. Overall, television industry revenues increased by 4% year on year to more than ?10.6 billion.

ONLINE
Online advertising continues to grow in importance as a mass marketing medium, attracting significant revenues away from other media.

Total online advertising revenues have increased almost eight-fold in real terms between 2001 and 2005 (from ?0.17 billion to ?1.3 billion per year). Online advertising revenue is now almost three times greater than radio advertising revenue (at around ?0.5 billion, unchanged since 2001 in real terms) and over one-third that of television advertising revenue (?3.8 billion in 2005, up from ?3.5 billion in 2001).

Broadband continues to demonstrate significant growth. Of the 11.1 million UK homes and small businesses with broadband connections, more than three million were cable and eight million were DSL – the latter up from five million in 2004. Industry revenues from broadband access were up 70% year on year to ?1.9 billion.

These trends are likely to continue as new technology and new products expand choice and availability. Unbundled local loop services – where competing providers take responsibility for the customer’s line to provide telephone, broadband, voice and television over the internet and video on demand services – are now available to 44% of the population, up from to 34% in 2005. The number of Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK also almost doubled over the year to June 2006, up from 8,500 to 14,600.

TELECOMS
Mobile phones play an increasingly important role in consumers’ daily lives. As many UK households now have a mobile phone as have a landline phone; and for the first time, the proportion of households relying on mobile phones exclusively (10%) is the same as the proportion who only use landline phones.

Mobiles are becoming the preferred means of making calls in many households, including those with both mobile and landline phones. Some 31% of consumers surveyed now consider their mobile to be their main telephone, up from 21% in 2004. For the first time, none of those surveyed said they relied on public payphones for their main means of making and receiving calls, compared to 2% of consumers surveyed in 2004.

Mobile industry revenues grew by 9.7% year on year to ?13.1 billion, while traditional landline revenue fell by 7.5% to ?10.1 billion.

Consumers are increasingly willing to switch phone companies; nearly 34% of consumers now use a phone company other than BT for some or all of their landline services. As of March 2006 6.1 million lines used a carrier pre-selection provider for their calls (up from 4.9 million in March 2005). Of these, 2.9 million were Wholesale Line Rental customers (up from 1 million in March 2005) who no longer have a billing relationship with BT but instead pay an alternative provider for both line rental and calls. Additionally 4.5 million consumers use cable networks for their phone services.

Ofcom Chief Operating Officer Ed Richards said: “Our research reveals dramatic and accelerating changes across all communications industries.”

“The sector is being transformed by greater competition, falling prices and the erosion of traditional revenues and audiences. A new generation of consumers is emerging for whom online is the lead medium and convergence is instinctive.”

MUMBAI: The direct-to-home (DTH) platform Dish TV will now be offering two more channels, both from the Bennett Coleman stable — the lifestyle television channel Zoom and the English news and current affairs channel Times Now.

The DTH opportunity will help spur higher penetration and create even more attractive business prospects for the two channels in the television market, an official release states.

Essel Group additional vice-chairman Jawahar Goel says, “The availability of the hugely popular news channel from the Times Group, namely, Times Now and the lifestyle channel Zoom on Dish TV beefs up our already robust news content and lifestyle offering. We expect significant consumer response and growth in the subscriber base for Dish TV and for the DTH market in India due to this tie-up.”

According to Times Now CEO Sunil Lulla, “The partnership with Dish TV will further augment the growing popularity of Times Now and will enhance the news viewing experience of the users.”

Talking specifically about the synergies between viewers of Dish TV and Zoom, its CEO Suresh Bala adds, “Dish TV provides us the ideal platform for reaching a larger base of upscale consumers with interest in the lifestyle genre. Zoom prides itself in bringing the latest in trends and lifestyle to our consumers and we believe strongly that our availability on the latest technology Dish TV platform enhances our positioning.”

At present, Dish TV, an Essel Group company with 1.3 million subscribers across the country, carries more than 160 channels, including all the popular cable channels and some exclusive channels.