Carriers vs. content at Mobile Entertainment Live!

Live from CTIA Wireless 2007: Jim Ryan and Larry Shapiro were seated at the same table, but they couldn't have been further apart. Ryan, VP of consumer data products with AT&T/Cingular, and Shapiro, executive VP of business development and operations with Walt Disney Internet Group, squared off at today's Mobile Entertainment Live! event, engaging in a lively, heated and occasionally hilarious debate on the future of the mobile content ecosystem. Both sides of the content equation agreed they need each other. That's about all they agreed upon.

Shapiro began by echoing sentiments expressed by MTV's Greg Clayman in his preceding keynote address, stressing the need for content delivery standardization, improved user interfaces and easier content discovery tools. Shapiro blamed carriers for their lack of experimentation: "There's been a stagnation in pricing and a reluctance to try new things in the market place."

Ryan countered that content providers do not understand or even care what operators do. "We're not just the pipe," Ryan said. "We handle the packaging, marketing and distribution." Shapiro's response: Carriers want to maintain control of their marketing initiatives, but contradict themselves by expecting content providers to invest into expanded marketing initiatives as well.  

Ryan also called content discovery "a work in process," adding that while device processing, device memory and network quality have all greatly improved. Shapiro's response: "The basic things [i.e. interface design and content access] are not being addressed in any way, shape or form. Beyond two clicks, you're in trouble. It's a tough device, but we have to figure it out." - Jason