Get the Olympics in your pocket
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
BY JULIAN RICHARDSON Assistant Business Co-ordinator richardsonj@jamaicaobserver.com |
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS company LIME is banking on this summer's London Olympics to boost Mobile TV sales.
Grace Silvera, LIME regional vice-president for marketing and corporate communication, said the showcase event — which takes place from July 27 - August 12 and coincides with the celebration of the nation's 50th anniversary of Independence — presents the perfect opportunity to push the telecom's 15-month-old digital Mobile TV product - television on a mobile phone.
"You want the mobility, so if you are watching something at home, you want to be able to take that experience with you while you are on the road," Silvera said at this week's Observer Monday Exchange meeting.
"The technology is able to afford us to do that. We have a unique product, it is innovative and it will be well timed for us to use it," Silvera added.
In November, LIME struck a deal with exclusive local broadcast holder of the 2012 London Olympics, CVM TV, which will allow the telecommunications provider to provide coverage of the games on its Mobile TV network. LIME will be adding three new channels to its entertainment arm: CVM Gold, which will have full coverage of the games along with analyst commentary as well as CVM Black and CVM Green, which will show extended coverage of all the events on Mobile TV and LIME TV.
Traditionally, regular television sales spike worldwide in the run- up to and during the Olympic Games, as patriotic fans open wallets in hope of enhancing their viewing pleasure. While time will tell whether Jamaicans will indeed flock to mobile televisions for the games in order to maximise accessibility, what's for sure is that local interest in the event is sky high as the island's track and field team is expected to perform well among the euphoria of the country's jubilee celebrations.
"The good thing is the timing of the games, it is not in the dead of the night, so we will be able to have real time coverage," she added, in reference to what she considers a relatively favourable English time zone — six hours ahead of Jamaica's — for local broadcast coverage of the Olympics.
LIME Mobile TV is currently offered in Kingston, St Catherine and areas around Montego Bay. But the company is looking to expand coverage to other areas in time for the Olympics, says Silvera.
LIME launched Mobile TV in December 2010, developed in collaboration with cable company DC Digital. The technology provides customers with access to television and cable channels from their mobile phones.
Since the launch, the company has broadcast numerous hot-ticket events, including the historic Buju Banton Before the Dawn concert in Miami Florida, Pretty like a Colouring Book — a lecture by popular dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel on the UWI Mona campus and the Rebel Salute reggae concert.
According to Silvera, the company's strategy for Mobile TV, centred on providing unique content, has "driven sales increases of as much as 50 per cent month on month".
LIME's mobile sales declined by two per cent for the third quarter ending December 31, 2011 compared to the corresponding period the year prior. The company posted losses of $3.8 billion over the first nine months of its financial year.
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