All posts tagged ‘rage’

September 28, 2009 by Allison

Mobile Video Gets a Spotlight from Rage and Valemont Premieres

It has been waiting in the wings for awhile now, but it looks like mobile video is ready to take center stage.

According to a new report from Nielsen, Americans are consuming more video content across screens than ever before. There was a 70% year-over-year increase in mobile viewing over the past year while traditional television viewing climbed by 0.9%. Simultaneous activity has a lot to do with this growth, underscoring that consumers are adding screen time, rather than simply replacing one screen with another.

nielsenmobilevideo

While they are obviously worried, cable companies and networks are doing their best to stay relevant. Soon, Comcast and Time Warner's "TV Everywhere" service will give cable subscribers access “premium” television content via broadband, and later cellphone connections. Meanwhile, Hulu is streaming web content for free, though rumors of a "badass" iphone app have yet to pan out.

Content producers are more willing to adapt to consumer's demands, and we're seeing more content tailored for multiple platforms. Just this week, we are seeing two "firsts" in mobile content:

valemont Verizon

  • Verizon and MTV are kicking off “Valemont,” a new mystery minisode series where cell phones play a pivotal role in both the story itself and the viewing platform. Billed as the first-ever TV series that centers around a mobile device, Valemont is a drama that centers around a girl who’s searching for her missing brother and uses his cell phone to unlock clues. Viewers can sign up to receive texts and email messages that will take them through an online game.

    After the first several episodes air on MTV, the rest will be released online and on V Cast mobile phones. Users can access the show from Verizon V Cast mobile phones by texting VU to 66333 from a Verizon Wireless phone to get the latest dirt on the Valemont Campus. For those who don’t have a Verizon phone, the content will be made available by using a “digital cell phone” on Valemontu.com.

    RAGEmobile

  • A new start-studded film by Sally Potter, Rage, premiered last week exclusively on the iPhone, becoming the first example of a feature film distributed for free via mobile. Mobile was a primary distribution channel along with the web and DVD; the only theatrical showings of the movie were two red-carpet events which took place last week.

    According to RWW, the film embraces the mobile platform as a way to tell the story, too. Instead of offering up a large video download, Rage was released in seven parts throughout the week through the streaming media application, Babelgum, which has now climbed to #16 on the list of top free Entertainment-based iPhone apps.