Next Great Thing

Last week, we talked about how mobile carriers and handset makers are looking to get in on the “content” game–essentially acting out the traditional role of TV networks and studios. This led us to wonder: What are the actual networks doing? Turns out: a lot. Perhaps in response to their devastating late-entry into online video, the major networks are progressively making their mark on mobile content creation—in fact, some are already moving on to opportunities newer than mobile itself. Here we size up the offerings…

Bravo: Wow. Bravo Mobile lets views vote bad walkers off America’s Next Top Model, download a Top Chef mobile game, and even follow Tim Gunn’s footsteps around Manhattan with the Project Runway Socialight channel. We were impressed, but we still wish we got the ANTM avatar game they had in China that we reported on last year.

NBC: NBC Mobile is the only network to feature free WAP sites (via m.nbc.com) for each of its daytime and primetime shows, including hits like “30 Rock”, “Bionic Woman” and “Chuck”. These sites offer new videos, photos, blogs, upcoming episode info, and other tidbits already available on their traditional websites. Show material can be accessed by signing up for SMS updates—i.e. “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” video clips—but rather than immediately offering content, the texts only provide links to the WAP sites. Update: NBC will be offering 2,200 hours of live mobile coverage from the Beijing Olympics.

CBS: CBS Mobile operates on a fee-based subscription model and currently only has a WAP site for news. “Late Show with David Letterman” produces “DAVE TV“, an MMS service which sends video clips each morning with highlights from the previous night’s show, for $4.99/month. A CBS Mobile subscription pack includes two ringtones and three wallpapers from top CBS shows like “CSI:NY” and “Jericho” (as well as old hits like “Beverly Hills 90210″) for $6.99/month. Some of the wallpapers can be personalized, and users can also gain access to a list of non-CBS ringtones from the likes of Fergie and Rihanna, even wallpapers from the LA Lakers. The network also has a mobile game for “CSI: Miami”, and non-TV-related games like “Retro Arcade Park” and “Nightclub Empire”, available individually for a one-time charge of $5.99/each (but not at all for T-Mobile and Verizon subscribers).

ABC: All major ABC shows have mobile wallpapers and ringtones available from ABC Mobile’s website. $9.99/month buys 20 credits, which equate to about 10 wallpapers, while a $1.99/one-time fee fulfills the two credits necessary for a “Lost” wallpaper featuring Jack Shepard. Soap operas like “General Hospital” offer an tri-weekly SMS gossip newsletter called “Soap Confidential”, available for $3.99/month per show. ABC also has mobile games for “Desperate Housewives” and “LOST” for $4-5 each.

FOX: While all the big three networks highlight their mobile features prominently on their homepages, Fox Mobile is separate from the Fox.com website and appears to be in beta. The site offers free SMS reminder messages about shows, as well as text games, on a number of carriers. But Fox does offer something the others don’t: a made-for-mobile series called “Bones: Skeleton Crew”, available through Sprint TV.

Carriers are trying to corral this content onto their own “networks” like Verizon VCast and MobiTV (available to Sprint, AT&T, and US Cellular users). For a fee VCast subscribers can watch dozens of channels, including CBS Mobile, Fox Mobile, and NBC2GO, which air a variety of live and taped content. And on MobiTV (a slightly lesser fee), NBC alone offers 24/7 channels “NBC Comedy”, “Bravo to Go”, “Access Hollywood”, and MSNBC.

Networks seem to be in the best position here, playing both sides of the fence. They are going off-deck and monetizing their content with mobile ads (CBS has a whole portfolio of ad partners). They are also feeding content to carriers, who have created hodgepodge their content portfolios with less than stellar UIs. Content providers don’t need carriers and off-deck ad-supported models will triumph in the end. Even the content creators themselves are increasingly thinking mobile; LOST’s JJ Abrams has a “360 strategy,” which has him conceptualizing mobile components from the outset. This will give mobile users more and more reasons to start tuning in.

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