Industry Fast Facts

Overview

Delivering content to a wide array of devices, moving content from device to device, managing content policy rights and eliminating the complexity of having multiple systems to handle different digital goods are major issues for the new digital media landscape.

Technology today is limited by competing handsets, content providers, network operators and DRM standards making it difficult to serve the needs of consumers and publishers who want flexibility, control and interoperability of content across devices. The need to improve is complicated by competing operating systems on a huge range of devices.

The Problems

Current proprietary architectures create distribution barriers that inhibit growth and interoperability

  • The siloed approach for offering digital content is a disaster for the digital age but technology is not up to speed. We have this wealth of material to make money on, but we don’t have the devices, networks and platform to get it out there – Edgar Bronfman, CEO of Warner Music
  • Consumers want their music and video available to many devices, but the technology has to be easy enough to use that its promise is fulfilled. If all that content is on individual gadgets or PCs, how do I access it when I want it? Consumers don’t like to be constrained. But they want it to be easy and effective. That’s the part we’re struggling with.” – NPD Group Analyst
  • There’s a consensus that operators would do far better to outsource their content management, producers should concentrate on producing content and operators should concentrate on operating networks. It’s a headache and a cost center they could do without. You can’t underestimate the influence of the backend on what is delivered to the consumer – Qualcomm
  • By taking steps to implement an open and interoperable framework, the industry can not only reduce revenue loss, but encourage the development of new business models and content distribution mechanisms. For instance, the ability to forward subscription content between users with recipients signing up for services to receive the content will offer the industry a powerful peer-to-peer marketing tool – Mobile Entertainment Forum
  • “You can’t underestimate the influence of the backend on what is delivered to the consumer. The need to improve is complicated by competing operating systems on a huge range of devices – Qualcomm
  • All content owners are going to have to embrace multiple platforms – Sling Media’s vice president Europe
  • As more devices become available with digital content capabilities, consumers may balk at paying for content that is limited to a specific device, like the iPod – Forrester Research, Nov. 2005
  • It’s nice to be connected and it’s nice to have technology, but if you’re not connected to what’s important to you, it’s just technology – Ontario Ministry of Finance quoted on Sling Media

Consumers and content publishers are demanding interoperability across devices

  • Of those who have bought content online, 38% say they expect to have the ability to transfer that content to any device they own. – Forrester Research, Nov. 2005
  • Our priority is the consumer and our focus is on ensuring that our product is available to the consumer on as many platforms with as much flexibility, functionality and portability that they desire – Warner Bros.
  • People are not going to want to be told what they can or can’t do with a piece of content they’ve already paid for – Gartner
  • A simple, user-friendly concept to allow consumers to watch their own TV on different devices has driven more than 100,000 people to go to stores to buy the Slingbox and has attracted $46.6 million in venture capital funding through Goldman Sachs, Liberty Media and Echostar
  • Now that TV is being launched on mobile phones, consumers are clamoring for the ability to both place shift content. There is a viable business for someone in this space – Red Herring
  • Consumers remain wary of digital entertainment purchases because of interoperability concerns – Forrester Research, Nov. 2005
  • The more devices people have, the more experiences they want, and the more occasions they have to become an audience. The television is not the center of the universe, it is one piece of the hub- MTV Networks
  • In the next 6-12 months we’re going to see a couple dozen devices that will just have all your music when you turn them on and when that happens, that will unlock the floodgates for consumer demand online lockers – Michael Robertson, Founder of MP3.com and MP3tunes.com

A shift in architecture is needed to meet growing consumer demand for flexibility and control

  • Any service which enables a user to free himself from the constraints of consuming video from a stationary device situated in a home environment is going to be readily adopted by the innovator and early adopter market segments - Breakthroo
  • There is a new media landscape – making videos, photos and music more accessible, controllable and portable – Breakthroo
  • Freeing users from the confines of the constraints of their PC or mobile device will be achieved with place shifting solutions via streaming, downloads and device transfers- Breakthroo
  • Media shifting blurs the licensed and user-generated divide, making possible point to point distribution of user-generated content – Breakthroo
  • The industry is waiting for a content management system that pulls in content from different sources without needing to prepare it in advance for a particular platform – eMarketer
  • The advance of technology means new methods of transmission are now possible, while the public is demanding increased variety, flexibility and control – Screen Digest
  • Content is content – whether it is music, a TV show, business news or information. We as a content provider and have to rely on technology to distribute content. Media and technology industries are interdependent – BusinessWeek publisher
  • Ok, now here’s the part you’ve been waiting for: the cell phone as a universal remote control. Not far down the road, content- be it digital pictures, music, TV shows, or simply a lowly contact list will likely be stored in a swerve on the Internet rather than in PC. The phone will allow you to access and control that information wherever you are. You will use it to send pictures to your PC or TV. You’ll use the phone to play digital tunes in your house and then transfer them to your car as you walk to the garage – BusinessWeek, July 3, 2006

Competing DRM standards are creating confusion for consumers and uncertainty for media publishers

  • Speaking regarding the new generation of products with new digital rights management controls and strict rules encoded saying exactly how a movie can be played – “This is a very sticky issue. It’s going to be very confusing for consumers,” – Envioneering Group
  • The need for protection is based upon the creator’s right to extract value from their work, as well as the distributor’s right to ensure that users legitimately access mobile content – Mobile Entertainment Forum
  • Consumers don’t want to worry about the rights. They just want to have content wherever they want to play it – Vantage Point Venture Partners
  • Encouraging legal and innovative peer-to-peer distribution is vital to driving the growth of the mobile entertainment industry – Mobile Entertainment Forum

Increased competition and little differentiation is requiring companies to look for additional services to attract and retain customers

  • Companies will need to embrace new offerings in order to find new growth and remain competitive – Breakthroo
  • There will be heavy lifting involving marketing mobile music services to consumers who now have legitimate choices to experience music anywhere they want on most any device – eMarketer
  • There are all sorts of opportunities for companies which are finding their core revenue stream being dented to bolster that revenue stream with new business models and new audiences – Screen Digest
  • The ability to media shift may be a key characteristic customers use in deciding where to get their content – Breakthroo
  • We've hit stabilization by hitting the bottom of real demand...growth will come by step-by-step improvements across the platform. – Verisign CEO, July 2006
As A Result, The industry is missing out on the revenue and growth opportunities because of lack of content interoperability
  • $1 billion a year is missed due to the lack of widespread interoperability for content across PC’s, mobile devices and other portable media devices – Mobile Entertainment Forum
Where Gogomo’s Media Shifting Solution Fits In

Gogomo solves the problem of content interoperability and rights management through its media shifting solution giving users control over where and how they access their personal media, freeing them from the PC environment by seamlessly transferring media and enabling playback on other devices. Media shifting enables the flexibility, control and personalization over how users consume and share content while protecting and managing digital distribution through a policy rights management framework.