MECCA keynote: Sprint's Paul Reddick

Sprint's VP of business development/planning & strategy Paul Reddick kicked things off here at MECCA with a keynote presentation that could not be ignored--and those that did were likely to be hit with a jumbo-sized sack of Wonder Bread. Reddick donned the racing track suit that, supposedly, Will Ferrell wore in his role as Ricky Bobby in the recent flick Talladega Nights, a tip of the hat toward the original, made-for-mobile shorts that Ferrell did in character for Sprint's video services. As Reddick read off the top myths about mobile content, he asked the audience to yell --œBust it-- and those who participated were rewarded with a far-flung jumbo bag of Wonder bread to the face, delivered from the stage by Reddick. I feared that I might leave the keynote with my orange juice in my lap, but fellow editor-in-the-field Nathan Eddy [1] told me to take courage and to continue the live blogging we had set out to do. Reddick's top myths are as follows:

- Carriers are strictly content distributors
- Mobile entertainment is just portable entertainment. Choice quote: --œIt's not about content, it's about contact--¦ a great example of that is something we did with AirPlay recently [an interactive TV game for the Emmys].--
- Mobile TV is just tiny TV. Choice quote: --œSince we launched with mSpot and our full movie service, we have seen 30 percent quarter-over-quarter growth for the video service.--
- Repurposed content alone will do. Choice quote: --œUser-generated content was made for the mobile platform and the mobile platform was made for user-generated content.--
- Mobile entertainment has to be commercial free. Choice quote: --œI can tell you this now, we've decided to team with Enpocket as a technology provider for placing ads on our services and those will be placed in early October. The new revenue will be used to make new content.--
- Customers won't pay a premium for --œnow-- availability
- Mobile entertainment markets itself
- Mobile carriers are inhibiting market growth and they don't care. Choice quote: --œIt hurts us [to hear this]--. A metaphor for off-deck: --œYou don't just take your new cookie recipe to Nordstroms and tell them to sell it and, oh yeah, give me a cut of the profit.--

-Brian [2]