Business Week Interviews MoboVivo CEO About the TV App Market

In 2008, MoboVivo seriously considered developing applications for TVs, but decided not to because most of the manufacturers had their own proprietary delivery platforms, and not one seemed likely to achieve traction quickly as a market leader.

At the time, MoboVivo decided instead to focus upon building solutions that optimized the delivery of TV programming to online and mobile devices. Since, the company has enabled over 90 producers and broadcasters to successfully deliver and sell their shows to users of computers, mobile phones and set-top boxes.

Today, the environment has changed. This week, Business Week weighs in on the challenges of developing applications for TVs, and features quotes from an interview with MoboVivo CEO Trevor Doerksen to frame the story. As Trevor says, MoboVivo is again eyeing TV apps, but hasn't decided which vendor or platform to get behind. Stay tuned.

MoboVivo Releases TV Show Apps in iTunes

Several new apps featuring top TV shows have been released in iTunes. The apps feature full access to TV programming directly from your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad. Shows include Ed's Up, The Tudors, Beer Basics, Tracey Mallet Workouts, A Shore Thing and Namaste Yoga. 

Check them all out in iTunes or at:

 http://www.mobovivo.com/itunes/

Broadcasters and producers looking for a TV Show App of their show should contact MoboVivo.

DVD Sales down 12%; Digital Up 32%

DVD sales down in 2009 to $16.4 billion from $18.4 in 2008
HD/Blu-Ray DVD sales up in 2009 to $1.5B from $.9B in 2008
Digital is up to $2.1B from $1.6B in 2009

http://www.businessinsider.com/deg-2009-home-entertainment-report

New Shows Available for Download

Fresh with Anna Olson
An award-winning cooking show with Anna Olson cooking three dishes for either a special occasion or a community event. Enjoy Fresh and eat local.
http://www.mobovivo.com/store/programs/fresh.



Yoga Body
Yoga Body with Stacy McCarthy a nationally recognized yoga expert. With over 20 years in the health and fitness industry, Stacy has gained worldwide recognition for her Yoga Body DVD series. http://www.mobovivo.com/store/programs/stacy-mccarthy-yoga-body.


Dance Fitness with Madonna Grimes
Award-winning choreographer, MaDonna Grimes, is renowned for her innovative dance moves. She founded the MaDonna Grimes Fitness and Dance Theatre Company, has released a CD, and is the author of Work It Out.
http://www.mobovivo.com/store/programs/dance-fitness-for-beginners-with-madonna-grimes


Yoga for Beauty
Instructor Rainbeau Mars leads viewers through an invigorating yoga work out. Build energy, boost metabolism, stimulate circulation, and restore overall vitality while improving posture, strengthening muscles, and reducing stress and tension.
http://www.mobovivo.com/store/programs/yoga-for-beauty-with-rainbeau-mars


Bellydance with Rania
Join certified aerobics instructor, Rania, a multi-award-winning dancer, in this unique weight loss series. Rania's bellydance skill is truly remarkable and her dancing is beauty in motion.
http://www.mobovivo.com/store/programs/bellydance-fitness-with-rania

Technology or Content, but not both.

Why technology and content for MoboVivo? Of course it makes a technology company like Vudu very attractive to a non-technology company like Walmart, but Vudu deal would not happen without the content.

I suppose Facebook and Twitter are two most popular examples of focused technology without content. Microsoft Word is another. However, although Google comes off as a technology content, they are among the leading suppliers of content in the world. So is Amazon and Apple. So, for every example there is likely a counter-example.

I will let Jim Spanfeller the former president and CEO of Forbes.com explain. According to Jim the future of value create in the digital world will be more about content than technology. He wrote recently, that:

In reality, the world is almost exactly the opposite of how many see it today: It is the technology that is commonplace and the quality content that is unique.  What a shame that many of today’s content companies will not be around to profit from the sure-to-come better understanding of the digital ecosystem. Why? Because they, themselves, are among the core promulgators of these misperceptions.

For me it is simple, to build great technology for the media industry you need two constants, the first is media content, the second is a relationship with the customers, both producer and consumers of content.

Of course, having a relationship with media customers means you have to know the content and the world they live in. Having been a former TV producer this is easy for me to understand. Having a relationship with the consumer of media is really at the heart of any great online service today. This has changed from the days for broadcast, where one-way communication was enough.

Walmart - Vudu deal about Content or Technology?

This is a very popular argument. I hear it all the time. Why technology and content for MoboVivo? I hear things like, "This obviously impacts the focus of the company,"  "Why do both it makes the story harder to tell?"

However, would Walmart have bought Vudu recently if Vudu was just technology and had no licenced movie content? Not a chance. Vudu's technology is important, but it is also away ahead of its time. It theoretically can stream 1080p video content to a TV set. Of course, you must have the right internet compatible TV set - which almost nobody currently does. And you must have the right broadband connection to your home (about 10 megabit connection)  - which almost nobody does. Under these conditions there are a lot of companies, including MoboVivo that can stream 1080p content to the home. Too bad these conditions don't exist.

So, Walmart will push to the desktop with Vudu hoping that the FCC will further regulate fiber-to-home initiatives and new regulation around pushing the technology of a set-top box into the television liberating the video content subscriber from the cable company.

Rainbeau Mars

Rainbeau Mars, yoga instructor to Hollywood stars is now available at MoboVivo.