While the major networks are trying to repurpose shows that work well on TV, D7TV is starting from scratch. The company wants to be “the” channel for mobile content and has already started producing shows before there is an actual distribution channel.
D7TV is currently filming short movies for their Web site, and by short we mean less than three minutes each. The plan is to build up an audience so that if and when mobile video subscriptions become commonplace, D7TV will be a brand consumers demand. ABI Research predicts that there will be at least half a billion subscribers to mobile video worldwide by the year 2011. So why not be ready?
D7TV was started by Michael O’Rourke, who also founded a projection media company 10 years ago called Dimension 7. O’Rourke calls Dimension 7 a “video band” because they filmed DJ dance events and made animation movies to stream online.
“In the early days all of our shows were netcast so we would actually send out both the video and audio stream,” O’Rourke said in a phone briefing on Tuesday. “We were obviously way too early in thinking that the Internet would be used as a distribution medium for video but now we’re at that point and online video is on everybody’s mind and we’re looking more towards mobile phones as our next platform.”
Party Crashers is one of D7TV’s more popular new shows. It is a tongue-in-cheek look at Silicon Valley social events. Sarah Meyers, host of the show, made a cameo at Monday night’s Google press party but press reps asked the crew to turn off their cameras before they could get much footage.
“We’re developing a whole series of programs early and the great thing about this medium is that it’s relatively low production cost compared to traditional television,” O’Rourke said.
D7TV is not to be compared with YouTube or VodPod or any other social video sharing site because they are uninterested in user-generated video. They make it, you watch it. That’s how it works.
Also, D7TV wants very little to do with the actual distribution of its content. O’Rourke said he will leave that to the pros, meaning he’ll let the mobile carriers decide how content is delivered.
Right now, D7TV content may be a little too edgy for the mainstream. Go to the site and you’ll know what I mean. But that doesn’t mean it won’t work. If mobile video becomes staple entertainment, it will be necessary to have a network that has flushed out a successful mobile video equation.
In the meantime, D7TV needs to work on its Web site. It isn’t very well organized but more like a hodgepodge of everything that the company is working on. At first glance, it looks like it isn’t meant for anyone Generation X or older.
“We’re putting it out there now just to sort of get critical feedback from people,” O’Rourke said. “There are a lot of user interface issues and one of them is how you find valuable content online.”
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Sounds like “Build it & they’ll come” business model
..or they are rather being proactive to the future market demands.
I just can’t grasp the idea of watching video programs on my phone. I dont even use my phone to talk anymore, the only reason it exists is to text. They should just market these as podcasts (or “netcasts”) that are available on mobile phones. You would reach a larger audience but still allow users the mobile phone option as well
everybody greatly alk about mobile content
This is a great idea … as long as resolution and size of your average mobile phone screen increases (or everyone starts carrying blackberry’s), this has a real chance of suceeding.
I wouldn’t be surprised if mobile, on-demand, video content basically killed the portable DVD player market within 5 years or so.
I wouldn’t make a categorical statement that mobile media will/will not succeed, it is a different format, and I’d expect some programs to fare well (bite sized programs), while full length programs won’t.
I agree though, it’s best to put this out there so anyone can view it, however they want. At the end of the day, a mobile phone is just another terminal device.
As the developing of the basic info structure for mobile and wireless protocol, I guess the mobile contents maybe hot in the coming future. Is that so called mobile 2.0?
http://www.ezecho.com
worth watching
although I for one dont see myself ever download let alone subscribing to mobile content, you never know what other generations might pick up on. I have nieces who at the age of 9 have their own cell phones. It is a good possibility that this generation of children will pick up on such media. The concept of positioning yourself for the market is fantastic. The question is whether the foresight is correct or incorrect. I for one think that it has a good chance and to be in a popular position is never a bad move.
“Sounds like “Build it & they’ll come” business model”
that worked wonders for pets.com.
What’s with the pill logo? And what does “D7″ mean? Basically all they have to say is that “d7tv is transformative media for a mobile planet.” Hmm, sounds bubble-y.
Given that they’re eschewing direct relationships with mobile content distributors, isn’t this really a tiny, closed-ecosystem YouTube subset? Its not like the content is earth shatteringly awesome enough to drive the brand. I just don’t get it really.
So are they repurposing existing content or producing their own? I wonder how they would create buzz for their own content enough to attract eyeballs. The networks are having a hard enough time creating buzz with multi-million dollar budgets.
BTW - I love the way those “Raketu” ads visual appearance is completely, 100% inconsistent with that of the actual site they’re promoting. Why do companies do that? Is the concept of consistent brand imaging and identity building so hard to grasp? Particularly when you’re spending thousands of dollars to flood the net’s major traffic pits with your ads. Sheesh.
What does the title of this post: “D7TV May Be The Next MTV For Mobile Content” have to do with the site mentioned? This is not novel: How many short film/short content providers are there out there? All of this content will ultimately end up on mobile devices. Look at recent deals to distribute content on mobile: YouTube, AtomFilms, iFilms, etc. This content may be great and ‘edgy’, but this is going to be the next MTV? give me a break. I think that the content on TechCrunch is good enough without adding-sensational, add a big named comparitor for shock value, but for no real purpose-headlines. TC needs to get back to basics. There was a great comment yesterday (sorry for not accurately citing or quoting) about the quality of TC being inversely proportional to the number of writers on the site. Seems true again today.
D7TV is not the next MTV. It was nice to meet you, Natali, at the google media party. The reason we will not post the footage isn’t because it isn’t usable, but because they asked us not to. Thanks!
Finally, somebody’s doing what I think should be done with a video site. The only problem is that every time I try to go to their site, it freezes my IE and then shuts it down.
As far as mobile content goes, I think it’s going to be a bit before anybody really knows what’s going to work and stick with users. I would rather see people try and fail with ideas than do nothing
I would be keen to hear how all of this ties in with the dotMobi extension. Is this further good news for backers and speculators??
http://www.revafinancial.squarespace.com
@14, what’s the big deal? If this blog only published stories when something that didn’t resemble anything that had ever been done before had just started one minute ago, there wouldn’t be very many posts for you to gripe about. And it wouldn’t be a blog, it would be a web alert, maybe routed to your phone(!). The point of this sight has always seemed, to me, to be providing news on recent developments and trends. I always enjoy hearing about new projects, even if they are in an established direction, and even if it’s not something I think is earth shattering.
It’s also lame to bombast the writers every time they use a phrase, or reference you wouldn’t choose. I don’t see anything sensational about MTV. They made their name providing a format for short length pieces of media available on the edgiest platform of the time, namely Cable. And that comment from yesterday isn’t true at all. The writers on TC are all pretty good, and I get bugged out by people tearing into the people who provide this news. They work hard so you can have recent developments fed to you. TC has a profit model based on expanded readership and diversity. Live with it.
This absolutely sucks. I have been working on mobile TV in real world implementation. There are so many formats out there that would adapt better… look at ANIBOOM.COM and imagine bringing their content to mobile.. this would be so nice.
this T7DV just sucks:
- poor website
- poor and uninteresting content
- unexperienced presenters yielling at the microphone
- low quality images ( dark and unfocused)
I am just wondering: how do these guys arrange VC funds?
the bubble is back
I think the content on this site is fresh and different. There is something unique and a very DIY(do it yourself) quality to the content. I am looking forward to see what this company does in the future. Mobile TV is going to be huge!!!
These are pioneering times… let’s give D7TV and others like it a chance .. what is it, a few weeks old? Looks like a good start… fresh content… that’s not from your father’s network…. earthy, fresh, different…. you’ll never see this come out of a major news/entertainment org…..
Is everything that comes online now the next “it” thing???
It does look like the site has been MySpaced but decent design seems to have been sacrificed on many of the top sites at the moment
This is great. Thanks for sharing.
emap in the uk have been quite successful with some of their short form content for mobiles from FHM and Zoo, and there’s quite a lot of user generated mobile content available on the UK aswell.
I didn’t really realise this wasn’t as common in the States.
Guive, I checked out Aniboom.com. Talk about a bad website… None of the videos play, my IE7 kept trying to reload the page, and the banner ads on the left covered up the vertical scroll bar. But, I see what you mean about the content. That is the type of short form media I can see being popular on mobile devices. Plus, the capability of accessing the films on the website and embedding them in other sites or emailing them to friends is a nice addition.
Mobile TV should turn out to be big. I think D7TV has a bad name and a worse logo, but their concept is a good one.
Content is King? Or is community?
Thanks for the article. As VP of Marketing and Executive Producer I will say that there are many mobile carriers that are looking for content and that have approached us. The content available now is awful movie trailers and music videos. We have many more ideas and shows in development. We have decided on an SF underground feel because that is where our roots are.
If you want to see firsthand what d7tv is all about, then you and your friends should come to the HUGE Love & Hate party on Friday night at the d7 studios.
Love and Hate will be taping a show at the party and we encourage everyone to show up with your opinions about d7tv and be ready to share them with Lauren and her camera.
KOOL!!!
very nice