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SCMP Reporter

Just think, no more having to rush home from work to watch your favourite soap opera. Now drama,

fantasy and real life in the form of news, business and other things, will be just a mobile-phone call

away.

Mobile television, as it is called, is one of the killer applications now linked to the 3G multimedia

service, with leading mobile operators such as Vodafone and Orange seeing it as a money-in-the-

bank bet.

Hong Kong, as one of the most advanced  telecommunications market in the world, is again leading

the change, with Hong Kong CSL taking steps to deliver mobile television through a video call,

instead of  the internet.

Earlier this week CSL showed off the 3G Mobile TV service that will make watching television simple.

By dialling *888 on a 3G handset, the mobile phone will show an interface displaying the various

channels, such as news, finance, drama and music.

Media Eye, a sucker for entertainment at the best of times, presses the 1 button on his 3G phone, and,

presto, there is i-Cable News channel. A touch of 3 and there is the movie trailer channel.

All this without a remote control or television  in sight.

Media Eye firmly believes all new services should be user-friendly but understands not everything will

be smooth sailing.

Most phone users may experience technical problems when trying to access traditional mobile

television service through operators' mobile internet portals. This will make for some desperate

subscribers.

'We try to make it (mobile television) simple,' said Ritchie Ma, the general manager of CSL's

One2Free Marketing.

He expects the new service to derive much more revenue from mobile multimedia service.

While the service sounds good, and gives new meaning to the word convenient, the cost of viewing a

programme is  $1 a minute. Media Eye thinks lowering the charge, perhaps by half, would get more

people switching on.

HABIT-FORMING CONTENT

CSL is also looking to secure exclusive content rights for its mobile television service by linking up with

Commercial Radio 2 to produce a mobile drama named Longing To Hear You Say, starring pop

singers Eason Chan and Miriam Yeung (pictured).

The drama will be delivered in multi-formats  - radio and mobile phone - and habit-forming three-

minute episodes, with the aim of locking in listeners and viewers.

By Media Eye's calculations, 20 episodes at  $1 a minute works out at $60 for the full story.

Get the picture of how much a mobile operator is making  by getting you hooked on their services?

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

The world often sees the biggest as the best, but on the internet the opposite is true.

In Britain, a small electronic greeting card website - JacquieLawson.com - attracted 22.7 million

visitors in December last year.

This was more than double its closest competitor, United States-based AmericanGreetings.com,

according to the Observer, citing a Nielsen/NetRatings report.

JacquieLawson.com was established in 2000 by a 62-year-old woman and her family who designed

e-cards to share with their friends and loved ones. And from that humble beginning has sprung a

multimillion-pound business.

Website membership rose 45 per cent to more than 530,000 this year.

With membership costing GBP4.5 ($60.69), this represents about GBP2.4 million in revenue a year.

And yesterday, being Valentine's Day, must have been a red-letter day for its owners.

POP STARS UNDER CONTROL

PCCW has started another round of its marketing campaign for its Now Broadband TV service, with

the newly launched Now Select video on demand in the spotlight.

The latest television commercial focuses on the ease of the on-demand service through Now's set-top-

box remote controller.

Now has three video-on-demand channels - Star Movies, Mei Ah Movie and Mei Ah Asian Drama.

'We are using a creative approach to emphasise the features of the on-demand service,' said Janice

Lee, a senior vice-president  for marketing at Now Broadband TV.

In the commercial, Now uses scenes from various films starring pop and film stars Andy Lau and

Cecilia Cheung to introduce the specific functions of the service such as fast forward, rewind and

pause using the remote control.

'This can deliver the message that pop artists in the video-on-demand service are all under the control

of viewers,' Ms Lee said.

So, all it takes to put  your favourite idol at your command is $15 a month.

frederick.yeung@scmp.com



Mobile television gives couch potatoes a reason to get moving