December 18, 2009 by NGT

Mobile TV On the Rise In Brazil

In Brazil, there is now a huge opportunity for mobile TV services. The biggest country in South America, Brazil has a population of 191 million people. Of those, 168 million have mobile phones, compared to 70 million with TVs.

Why Video?

According Michel Castaldelli, Business Consulting Director at Ericsson, the ringtone and wallpaper sales are way down. This is forcing a migration towards new revenue generating products. Video fits the bill properly as it is experiencing a boom on the Internet and catching the attention of the mobile user as well. Since video quality has improved, it’s often the main selling feature for new high-end devices. Users want quality and only nowadays mobile devices are delivering it.

Why Mobile?

The Brazilian market is growing exponentially due to the fact Brazilians are in love with TV and with gadgetry, says Barbara Gurjão, former Media & Content Manager (VAS) at the Oi carrier and now the TV & Media Business Manager at Ericsson. Mobile infrastructure has experienced a boost with the launch of 3G, mainly due to the lack of competing fixed broadband access in some areas. Even if broadband is available, low income customers often cannot afford both and will opt for mobile only. Plus, the digital TV standard chosen for Brazil, ISDB-T, offers videos meant for mobile viewing at a price tag Brazilians can afford (i.e., free of charge).

With this in mind, some of the biggest Brazilian media and telecommunications groups are investing in mobile TV:

  • The Brazilian TV Group Bandeirantes will launch Bandnews Mobile, a news channel with exclusive mobile content. They will start with short clips on demand and later offer live broadcasting. The service, which will offer national coverage, will start free-of-charge in January 2010 and later a monthly fee will be charged.
  • M1ND, the Brazilian company that developed Oi's and TIM's carriers mobile TV platforms, will also invest more in mobile TV. M1ND will create its two own channels to be launched commercially in 2010. One of them will be targeted to the female audience—an attempt to attract women to mobile TV. Currently 63% of Brazilian Mobile TV users are men between 15 and 36, according M1ND. The other channel will be called M1ND TV and will be featured by humor programming.
  • The Claro Video Maker is an interesting mobile video product launched by America Movil Group and produced by Compera nTime Yavox. People can create their own videos and send them to friends via MMS or their web site, where any user of the service can download it and video's creator earns ten cents for each download. The most viewed videos of the month go to a special gallery on the site, which will further catapult the sales of its video makers.
  • Terra, owned by the Spanish telecom company Telefonica and the biggest internet provider and web portal in Latin America, will offer 20th Century FOX new series and movies to Blackberry users. They will have access to Terra Web, which will give users access to a wide variety of news, sports, entertainment and lifestyle contents.

Challenges

The consumers in Brazil are already using videos on their mobile phones and on the wired web, both for viewing premium content and sharing UGC. Offering the right content the way consumers want it is a challenge to all providers. Michel Castaldelli told us that Brazilians tend to prefer not being tied to a monthly commitment for any services. The price of mobile data traffic is also a barrier.

A Hybrid Model

Experts in this market say that the Mobile TV business success in Brazil depends on a hybrid system in which the offer includes open channels, interactivity, subscriptions and pay channels. The hybrid model plays a key role because the free model attracts the audience but it’s pay TV that can sustain the business.

Not IF, but WHEN
Ultimately, though, the mobile videos industry in Brazil is definitely on the rise and being successful is not a question of IF, but a question of WHEN. Users are currently changing their TV viewing habits towards a much more mobile, on-demand, ad-hoc experience instead of traditional linear TV. As more and more content becomes available in this format every day, both legal and pirated, it’s up to content providers to seize this opportunity to the fullest.

- Edvaldo Acir

Edvaldo Acir is currently Head of Business Development at FOX Latin American Channels and works with digital media since 1998. Has a Master degree in progress at UNICAMP (research about mobile market) and a Post Graduation degree at ECA/USP in Advertising and Marketing (research about internet and mobile market). Contact: edvaldoacir [at] uol.com.br

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  • migueldorneles
    Good point, Ed. On-demand content is perfect for a highly customizable and personal device like a mobile phone. Not only video, but also music, which has been a part of the users' lives for years now, and in my opinion is key for that industry's survival in the short term.

    The mobile Web is a big opportunity in our country indeed, but in my opinion that's not because of the current state of mobile adoption in Brazil. As most users are actually tied to a prepaid plan without or with minimal internet capabilities we cannot expect the whole universe of mobile users to be ready for mobile TV. I think we are still far from that scenario and traditional TV will certainly make its digitalization sooner. When mobile TV happens, though, we'll see that choices toward short-form content like Bandeirantes has made will definitely be critical for this type of device while other mediums will remain relevant for long-form content.
  • Hi Miguel! Tks for your comments. Your toughts are very clear and could be part of this article. In the next one I count on your help. ; ) Best, Ed.
  • marciofonseca
    I couldn't agree more...as the devices are getting smarter & networks are getting better, what you do with them is even more interesting and VIDEO will be a reality soon.

    Also, do you think "mobile social networking" could be part of this? Will be the place to watch VIDEOS?
  • Hi Marcio. Much still remains to be done to develop and increase mobile social networks. Phones have to allow easier typing and carriers have to introduce more features to making this a truly rich experience. Watch videos in a My Space Mobile, for example, it will be great! You got a good point and a perfect idea to another article. Thanks a lot!
  • fabianog
    Great article! Brazil is the next big player on mobile video market.
  • Hi Fabiano. Thanks a lot for your comments. Yep! We have a lot to do here in mobile and digital market! ; ) Best, Ed.
  • The Mobile Industry In Brazil is really a good opportunity for Advertisers and Content developers. People are more and more trying to satisfy their media needs and solve their problems anytime and anywhere. Knowing the best way to approcah these users will define cases of success.
  • Hi Tomas, thanks a lot for your comments. I believe that with the big media groups investing in Mobile TV and the operators giving prices more accessible to the clients use it, we will find this way to approach.
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