New MediaFLO chief outlines the future of FLO TV

"It's definitely our understanding and our expectation that June's the date," Stone said. "Could things change? I don't know. In this world we're living in, who knows, but I haven't heard anything to that effect."

FOCUSING ON THE CONTENT

Amp'd Mobile certainly didn't have a monopoly on original video content for the mobile phone. FLO TV has a dedicated channel, not affiliated with any of its broadcast partners, that airs made-for-mobile and original programs. Stone, however, said he would be on the look-out for new original content to bring to MediaFLO, though it won't necessarily be self-produced like Amp'd programs. Stone said MediaFLO could just as easily partner with outside studios to produce programming for MediaFLO or it could buy or partner with other content producers to bring made-for-mobile content. There has been an explosion of short-form films and video in recent years that could be seeking an outlet other than the traditional screens in the movie theater and living room.

"There are multiple paths we can go down," Stone said. "For me, I'm just looking for cool stuff that entertains our customers. Where it comes from at this phase is less important to me, but we'll probably look at all of those paths and pick the path that has the best original content."

Though a significant element in MediaFLO's future programming, original content won't necessarily be the most important. FLO TV's biggest viewership spikes come from live events, not just sporting events like the NCAA tournament and the US Open, but singular news and cultural events like the presidential inauguration. A big focus for MediaFLO's content strategy will be on securing rights to broadcast more live events, sports or otherwise. "Live is something that is core to what we do," said.

Perhaps most surprising, however, is the importance Stone placed on syndicated content. While mobile TV's big allure may the ability to original TV regardless of location, Stone said, many FLO customers spend just as much time watching old TV shows and movies they've seen dozens of times before. One of the most popular channels on FLO TV is one that broadcasts classic films. At first that would seem counter-intuitive since a full-length film isn't easy to watch on a phone in a single sitting. But Stone said the comfort many subscribers have with familiar content leads to them watching just segments of a program rather than the whole thing.

"Customers like to snack," Stone said. "They don't want to sit down and eat a full-course meal necessarily in a mobile television context. With that being said, snacking doesn't always mean short-form content, three minutes to five minutes long." Stone likened it to buying an economy size bag of chips at Costco. Just because a customer buys three pounds of food, doesn't mean he'll eat it all at once. "We need a balance of short-form and long-term content," he said.

Stone sees three fundamental premises that make mobile TV attractive to the customer: place-shifting, time-shifting and relevance. FLO TV already does the first quite well, Stone said, so it will increasingly focus on the latter two. While much of MediaFLO's sports, news and topical programming already carriers a lot of relevance to the average person, the key will be in making customers aware of it, Stone said. Stone said he is looking at technologies that could alert customers when breaking news is occurring or a major sporting event has begun, directing them to their FLO screens. As for time-shifting, that would imply either some kind of DVR capabilities on the phone or an on-demand service, neither of which Stone said he is prepared to discuss now.

"The key is how do we build and develop a platform to make those things happen," Stone said. "Stay tuned."