Head of Content Partnership at O2 Media

How is mobile video becoming more popular – what new channels do you see it being driven by as 2012 approaches?

What are your main responsibilities at O2 Media, Telefónica and how much does mobile video concern you on a day to day basis?

My main responsibilities are conceiving, executing & maintaining successful content partnerships that both satisfy and engage O2 customers and generate long term revenue value. For me a partnership cannot be considered successful unless it ticks both those boxes. This means I have very strong relationships with our Global Partnership Team in Madrid who are having global discussions with the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter with it being my role to ensure the UK’s needs are met by those deals. I also get the opportunity to work with the leading brands and content providers in the UK to devise UK specific content partnerships which complement those offered by my Spanish colleagues. Mobile video fits into this mix as one of the core channels I can leverage to drive consumer engagement, learn more about what the consumer likes, generate revenue from or even reward the customer with.

Why do you feel that partnership building is now more important than ever as the growth of mobile video cannot be ignored?

Competition in this space and therefore consumer choice has exploded. Anyone that has visited an App Store will recognise that at times too much choice can be a bad thing (80% of paid apps have been downloaded less than 100 times Distamo May 2011). It’s within this space that curation becomes key to help the consumer negotiate the barrage of choice and get to the content that is of the best quality and most relevant to them. To enable this partnership building is key as both sides can work to create an experience which puts the consumer at its heart. One which maximises learning about what the consumer has downloaded before, what the consumer has ‘liked’ or forwarded to friends and one which can intelligently recommend what the consumer might like to view.

Two partners that can collect data which can contribute to the development of a consumer centric video service have a great basis on which to drive revenue.

How is mobile video becoming more popular – what new channels do you see it being driven by as 2012 approaches?

With 100m mobile video views happening globally every day and viewing increasing in the US alone 41% YOY it is clear that the growth of mobile video is substantial. This is being driven by 3 things; an increasing number of smart phones, the availability of more and better content and the choice of different viewing models including ad supported and subscription ad free services. With 2012 approaching the interplay between devices will drive uptake (see Ultra Violet or Apple Airplay) alongside how the major film and television studios decide to distribute their content (see Google Videos and Sony Crackle as interesting examples). Essentially 2012 will see mobile video become even more popular and it will be fascinating to see how each part of the industry adapts to keep up.