The Rise of Media Apps in Smart Mobile Devices
They afford consumers more control in managing access of their overall relationship with digital media content. They allow customers to manage their pay TV accounts online, and to remotely control digital media devices in the home to record and store content.
They incorporate many of the computing, Internet, cloud and social media-type application features that help consumers find and access more of the type of digital content they want to see.
These two phenomena pose a number of threats to the existing media service delivery business models, but, in particular, they:
Shift some emphasis from broadcasting digital media over delivery assets to streaming digital media through over-the-top distribution assets;
Deemphasize the use of broadcast and digital media devices technology as a means of controlling consumer access to digital media content; and
Establish a new context for media service providers to create direct relationships with individual consumers.
MRG believes that the rise of media apps running over smart media devices has the potential to create massive disruptions with respect to the relationship between the media and entertainment, computing and cloud services, and wireless mobile device industries. Since smart mobile device platforms will be the main vehicle for breaking down these traditional industry lines, the likelihood of a transition to widespread access to digital media content is more possible now than ever.
This report is relevant to smartphone and tablet PC device and software developers, computing and digital media device vendors, application store and applications development networks, cloud computing service vendors, home networking equipment vendors, wireless service providers, OTT service providers, and players across the entire media and entertainment value chain, including content creators, content aggregations, content distribution, pay TV service providers, and broadcast services companies. The report contains five-year forecasts for worldwide computing, digital media and smart mobile device shipments as well as worldwide mobile device shipments by platform. The deliverable is comprised of a PDF and an Excel file.
Introduction 6
The Mobile Side of Media Apps 9
App Stores are the Source for Media Apps 9
Smart Mobile Platforms Follow the Emergence of Cloud Services 11
Overview of Cloud Computing. 12
Mobile Platforms and Digital Media Devices as Cloud Clients 13
The Digital Media Home Renaissance 14
From Two Home Networks to One. 15
Digitization of Broadcast and Broadband Services 16
From Consumer Electronics to Computing Devices 17
WANs Outside the Digital Home 19
The Contributions 3G to 4G Wide Area Networks 20
Public Wireless LAN. 20
The Impact of Gen Yers and Gen Xers 20
The M&E Side of Media Apps 22
How M&E Controlled the Transition to DTV and HDTV 24
Digital Media Content Formats Open a New World for Mobile Devices 25
Media’s Contribution to Digital Media Software 26
What’s Happening Now. 27
Old Habits Die Hard: Device-Based Media Innovations 30
Conclusion: The Impact of Media Apps on Smart Mobile Platforms 32
Mobile Becomes the Predominant Media Platform in the Home 32
Valued-Added Media Apps Drive New Consumer Behaviors 34
edia Companies Buy In or Adapt 34