| 24th May 2005 - Volantis,
A supplier of Intelligent Content Adaptation solutions
for the mobile Internet, today announced that it
has been chosen by Channel 4 New Media, to develop
and host the first dedicated Channel 4 branded mobile
portal. Mobile.channel4.com will go live on 27th
May 2005 to coincide with the launch of Big Brother
6. Later versions will include a wide variety of
content from Channel 4’s top programmes, including
Channel 4 News. |
 |
The Channel 4 direct-to-consumer mobile portal is a
single-destination, 100% branded website, optimised
for mobile phones. It enables precise control of content
and a direct relationship with consumers, and can be
reached by any UK resident with access to the Internet
via their mobile phone. Big Brother 6 content will combine
the best elements of the official Big Brother website,
plus exclusive Big Brother content including news stories,
information and gossip on the housemates, video clips
and downloads to provide a comprehensive consumer experience
around Big Brother.
The Channel 4 mobile portal promises to be one of the
UK’s most popular direct-to-consumer mobile websites,
especially as Big Brother audiences averaged over 5
million viewers per show in 2004, and a third of the
total 15 million votes cast were via SMS. Its innovative
design will reflect TV broadcast and PC Internet content,
and will include real-time updates of news, editorial
commentary, video streaming, ringtones, images, games,
quizzes, competitions and voting capabilities.
The Channel 4 mobile portal utilises Volantis Managed
Services, which provide end-to-end management and optimised
delivery of content to different mobile devices across
any network. Using Volantis Intelligent Content Adaptation™
technology, mobile web pages and downloads are optimised
for each individual handset by recognising more than
350 attributes of over 1,300 mobile device types and
generating, in real-time, content precisely formatted
for every device. This means that each Channel 4 mobile
portal user will receive an extremely high quality brand
experience.
Ian Meakin, VP Marketing Volantis, said: “Channel
4’s innovation in putting hugely popular TV content
onto mobile will significantly drive UK mass market
usage of the mobile Internet past the 1.5 billion mobile
web pages viewed each month. Channel 4’s Big Brother
mobile offering is a cutting-edge service for one of
the most popular TV series in the UK and we are delighted
to be part of delivering this and rolling-out Channel
4’s future mobile services.”
Paul Whitehead, Head of Business Development for Channel
4 New Media, said: “Viewers are used to having
a number of ways to interact with Channel 4 content
including TV, Internet and SMS. Our mobile portal strategy
ensures viewers will have 24/7 real-time, ‘anytime,
anywhere’ access, whatever their handset, to the
latest news and content from Channel 4 programmes like
Big Brother. With their extensive experience of delivering
large-scale mobile portals for leading international
brands, Volantis is the ideal partner to help us achieve
our strategy.”
About Volantis
Volantis (www.volantis.com) is the world’s leading
supplier of Intelligent Content Adaptation solutions
and services for the next generation Internet. It has
leading content provider, mobile network operator and
enterprise brands as customers, its technology is used
in solutions from some of the world’s biggest IT
suppliers, and it leads key industry standards bodies.
With Volantis, intelligence about thousands of access
devices, operator networks, aggregator/operator portals,
content/database management systems, billing systems
and location-based services, is used to adapt content
in real-time for optimal user experience. Intelligent
Content Adaptation reduces the cost and complexity of
delivering Internet content and services to any access
device, and increases user satisfaction.
Volantis is used around the world by leading brands
such as 3, Accenture, Centertel, Cingular, CSC, Discovery,
eBay.co.uk, EMAP, FT.com, HP, IBM, lastminute.com, M1,
Reuters, Telefonica Moviles, Telecom Italia Mobile and
Telenor Mobil. Volantis also Chairs the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) Device Independence Working Group.
About Channel 4
Channel 4 was created by Act of Parliament in 1982.
It transmits across the whole of the UK, except some
parts of Wales which are covered by the Welsh language
S4C. It is available on all digital platforms (terrestrial,
satellite and cable) as well as through conventional
analogue transmission. It is a publicly owned corporation
whose board is appointed by the television regulator
- the Independent Television Commission / OFCOM (after
Dec 2003) - in agreement with the Secretary of State
for Culture Media and Sport. Unlike the BBC, Channel
4 receives no public funding. It is funded entirely
by its own commercial activities. Channel 4 is a publisher/broadcaster.
It does not produce its own programmes but commissions
them from more than 300 independent production companies
right across the UK, making it the major stimulus and
outlet for Britain’s highly successful independent
production sector. It invests heavily in training and
talent development throughout the industry.
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