Can the Entertainment Industry Afford Not to Diversify to Mobile Devices?

MPP Global Posted by MPP Global on Tuesday, 24 May 2011

As The Mail Online announces its mobile audience has increased by 5.7million, the emphasis for news and entertainment providers to offer secure and accessible mobile optimised sites has drastically increased.

 

Naturally, this will lead to decisions regarding methods for monetising content on the rapidly expanding mobile platform. Many newspapers have already introduced a pay-wall to manage content and payment access to their online sites, but what is the best payment solution for companies crossing platforms? And how will this affect the user experience?

 

With demand increasing for mobile sites and print media decreasing, the importance is firmly placed on newspapers to expand the channels they reach. Seven out of 25 daily newspapers were found to have a mobile site, with a third offering an iPhone app, but half of these were lacking a mobile optimised site.

 

Daily Mail have seen their unique monthly online readership increase from 1.5m to 7.18m, and their iPhone app extend past 61,00 daily users, which is evidence of the increasing mobile audience. This also reflects recent statistics that indicate that by 2013 mobile internet audiences will overtake those surfing on conventional computers. In this climate therefore it is vital that mobile apps run in parallel with the mobile site. Chris Anderson, in Free: The Future of Radical Price, indicates that freemium offerings will be the future for the app world, Free apps that allow the customer to access a basic product for free but with a chargeable premium service offered. This plays well into the importance of competing for readership whilst supplementing advertising revenues for companies.

 

By diversifying their content into online and app based streams, content providers will have to boast a new level of integration for payment methods. The ability to accept credit and debit card transactions isn’t sufficient, with a need for subscription management, pre and post pay micropayments and even one-click transactions, it is clear that the new sites require a level of dexterity for payments which they previously would not have needed. For companies to truly be successful in their delivery and diversification they must understand that the number of different channels offered needs to be mirrored by the breadth of payment integration offered.

 

MPP Global offers integrated, secure and bespoke eCommerce payment solutions for online and mobile devices.

MPP Global

Posted by MPP Global

MPP Global delivers eSuite, powering media through subscription & billing, providing blue-chips in the Media sector with the freedom to deploy flexible business models that drive recurring revenue streams. eSuite powers next generation lifecycle management that enables the acquisition, monetization and optimization of customers. With offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, MPP Global has an impressive track record of maximizing customer lifetime value. Clients include Sky, McClatchy, Torstar, L’Équipe, SF Anytime, Daily Mail, Jysk Fynske Medier, NBC Universal, TDC Nuuday, Juventus, Hallmark, American City Business Journals (ACBJ), Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), Camping World and The Yomiuri Shimbun.