m.Net’s Olympic Games mobile site for Telstra exceeds all expectations
Thursday, 18th September 2008
Posted by Horden Wiltshire, Chief Executive Officer
We recently designed, developed, and delivered a site of which we are very proud: the 2008 Olympic Games mobile site for Australia’s number-one carrier, Telstra. The site–which was a world-leading mobile destination by any measure–incorporated two live video streams from the Seven Network and SBS as well as Video On Demand, integrated SMS alerts, and the delivery of a variety of content feeds.
I was personally surprised by the enthusiasm with which Australians took to watching live video on their phones. Negative press regarding the uptake of video on mobile phones is all too common, with the argument usually trotted out being that no-one wants to watch a movie on the phone. I have to admit I did have some misgivings.
The Olympics has changed my opinion. The site was an outstanding success with an uptake significantly greater than anyone expected.
The service was priced well, at AU$9.95 for an unlimited-access pass to the Olympic Games site over the 16-day event. Day passes were available for AU$3.95 and pay-per-view was available at AU$0.50c.
Another important factor in the success of the service was a promotional campaign implemented by Telstra across the Seven Network and Yahoo!7 during the event. The call to action was simple: “just push the BigPond button on your mobile phone”, with a link to the site featured in a prominent position on the portal.
I think we will look back at this time as having been a turning point in the uptake of the mobile Internet in this country, with more Australians today having 3G devices than terrestrial broadband connections. Last year more than 40% of Australians visited mobile websites on their phones, and with increasing exposure to events such as the Olympic Games we expect that number to increase significantly. I believe there will be increasing demand for marquee events where real-time video makes a significant difference to the end user’s experience.
Bring on the Melbourne Cup!