Tea with the Mayor
The road to starts with some audience research and some anecdotal evidence.
The research is from the . It showed that 74% of the British public followed the Olympics on television, while 31% accessed our online services; 15% used radio; and only 2% made use of mobile. Don't worry that it adds up to more than 100%: obviously it's possible both to watch TV and use online to follow the Games. But we did investigate that 2% figure, which showed a lower-than-expected reliance on mobile devices despite their huge growth in recent years.
It turns out that not only was mobile not really in the picture, but it also delivered a relatively poor experience for the people who did use it. We ask people to score our services with marks out of 10, and TV, radio and online all score eight or more - whereas mobile limped in with a mere five. If this were Strictly Come Dancing, mobile would be facing elimination.
´óÏó´«Ã½ representatives met London Mayor Boris Johnson this week
Now the anecdote. I was at the last Sunday for and at half-time I was sent a couple of texts cheerily predicting that Arsenal were going to sink completely in the second half.
I actually received the texts when I was walking out of the stadium down the with the final whistle blown and Chelsea the deserved winners - and that's an experience many people will have shared at a big stadium event.
The sheer amount of demand on the mobile network around places like the Emirates or or means you either can't get a signal or texts arrive in a bundle some considerable time after they were despatched.
Add those things together and we have the shape of a problem and an opportunity.
People love using mobiles generally and they want great services from them - including the chance to watch video and have a rich range of information. But as the demand grows, the infrastructure struggles to cope. Which is, of course, a particular challenge for .
Record numbers of foreign visitors will be arriving with their mobiles; there'll be nine million ticket-holders seeking news and information; and people across the UK will want to keep up with the action from the Olympic sites.
So that's why we from the ´óÏó´«Ã½ were at a meeting this week with the , and key partners - mobile network operators, , , and the rest - to discuss how we can make mobile a selling point for Britain and not a source of frustration.
We don't want world leaders getting off the plane at and not being able to get a signal, just as we'd hate it if someone in tries to click on their mobile for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ coverage of the 100 metres final and gets a "Sorry" message.
You can read one account of what happened but this was only one in a series of meetings and working groups which will continue right up to the time of the Games.
The issues are predictably complex. They range from concerns in the industry that the ´óÏó´«Ã½ may make too much material available - imagine the chaos, they say, if we replicated the success of the iPlayer in the mobile space - to pressure that we should deliver even more innovative services to help mobiles cut through in the ocean of digital media.
What do you expect to be able to watch or listen to via your phone or other mobile devices in 2012?
Of course, what will determine the outcome is what our audiences choose to do.
I'm still pretty sure that people will want to watch the landmark moments on TV - on big screens in high definition - and mobile will be an important player in the supporting cast rather than the main star.
But we'd like to hear what you think: what do you expect to be able to watch or listen to via your phone or other mobile devices in 2012? Where and how will you be following the between July 27th and August 12th? It may seem a long way away, but if the planning doesn't start - the industry won't be able to deliver.
I'll make sure all views are fed in - including next time we have a cup of tea with Boris.
I'm Roger Mosey, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s director of London 2012. That means I'm overseeing all the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s 2012 preparations including not just sport but the Cultural Olympiad, our Olympic news and information services and everything that will bring the story of the London Games to audiences at home and abroad. I want to share here what we're planning - and debate some of the big issues. You can also follow me on .
Comment number 1.
At 3rd Dec 2009, Tenisson wrote:Hi thanks for the update,
Im probably in the small majority of people here with my views. However I think the 2% mobile useage and the rating out of 10 kind of backs me up!
I really dont think the mobile phone experience is much good at all other than as a minor supporting role to the two main formats, TV and online. The ´óÏó´«Ã½ sport website (im not just saying this) is by far my faveourite website for sports news, I as a spectator follow ALL sports (literally) and spend a good - read too much - amount of time daily getting all the latest news and often follow cricket / tennis / football etc live on the website. it really is excellent and nowadays contains lots of video footage both highlights and live stream.
I think this along with watching things on the TV is more than enough to be honest. I just have never been taken by the concept of ppl crowding round a little mobile phone to watch highlights or live footage, i cant see it happening, I (maybe wrongly) can just imagine it to be problematic, buffering, poor stream quality etc, and just difficult to manage. (im not a fan of the blackberry iphone generation this must be said) I just find it all a bit fiddly.
I imagine mobile phones could play a role in text/picture information. information that doesnt place too much strain on the network etc and could be quickly and easily accessible such as written reports and even the live text commentary could work as well as limited video stuff perhaps. I just know I can tell you how much I will rely on my mobile to follow the olympics - 0%. I think mobile technlogoy was quite good in 2008 and only 2% used it with a 5/10 rating. says it all.
I think the temptation is to try and use the new technologies too much simply because they are available and are considered by marketing men as "cool" and "what the kids want". I think however that tv and online does the business. Id put more time and effort into making improvements and updates to the website to keep improving on this excellent service.
Thanks
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Comment number 2.
At 3rd Dec 2009, democracythreat wrote:The photo of the iPhones says it all.
There are computers, phones, smartphones .... and then there is the iPhone.
The Iphone invented mobile media browsing. Until that device came onto the market, "smartphones" were only good for email. Most of them are still only good for email.
Check out the sheer volume of mobile media traffic consumed by the iPhoen as compared to all other devices, and you understand the picture.
By the 2012 olympics, the iPhone will either have some real competition or everyone will have one (just as the iPod became ubiquitous).
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Comment number 3.
At 3rd Dec 2009, rjaggar wrote:1. e-ticketing using mobiles is already used by buses and I know that Finland was using mobile money a decade ago - any way mobiles could have tickets for events programmed in a way you just click the device at a barrier and in you go? [If you've been to Emirates, you'll know they have electronic season tickets you stick in machines which are activated for each match - any way all visitors could have an electronic pass automatically activated just for those events they go to? World Cup 2018 might like to think about whether that might be feasible also?]
2. m-oysters on mobiles might be possible by then? An app for an iPhone??
3. Any apps available which will be able to text people the best way to get to their events that day from where they are staying?? Central server with visitor info - events schedule and hotel accommodation/postcode where they are staying?
4. Airlines allowing use of m-ticketing for rapid check-in for Olympic visitors??
5. Ditto for trains into Central London from the airport (notably Heathrow Express, Gatwick Express etc]?
6. Travel partners organising a mobile diary/travel arrangement m-document for all Olympic visitors? Linking in with key non-sporting event partners hoping to experience Olympic traffic (golf courses, restaurants, concert halls, theatres?)
I guess what you want to do is to simulate a visitor experience from arriving in the country to leaving, thinking what they might do, what they might appreciate having on their mobile and what wouldn't work that way.....
Dunno about watching events again on mobile - it's not something I've done yet I must say.....
Hope this helps.
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Comment number 4.
At 3rd Dec 2009, Stu wrote:I can only imagine using my mobile when i don't have access to TV,say on a train or bus stop. therefore would expect to click on a live stream and receive the same thing that i could if i were watching TV.
Generally i would agree with the scores that the users gave about the Beijing Olympics, the TV and radio coverage on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ was fantastic, as goes for all ´óÏó´«Ã½ sporting events. I will be watching 2012, but because im on a mobile phone id hope the coverage would be identical to what is being shown on TV. Like match of the day being streamed while its shown live.
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Comment number 5.
At 4th Dec 2009, awaistle wrote:Mobile technology is moving fast, vary fast. It is the future. We should wrap our arms around it, cuddle it, and capture the promise. Yes we must press for the infrastructure to deliver the demand when required, to make the experience plustration not frustration.
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Comment number 6.
At 4th Dec 2009, magnificentpolarbear wrote:For beijing I was a tv and internet watcher/user of the ´óÏó´«Ã½s output. No mobile use as I didn't have that type of phone but to be honest would not have used it.
Why? simply because I got what I needed from the telly and the web. Was not away from either for very long and soon caught up. Also the time difference had something to to with it too.
Also I really cant be bothered to look at things on a very small screen. Ok for texts etc but not for trying to watch any sporting (or other) action.
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Comment number 7.
At 4th Dec 2009, captainlazytim wrote:By the 2012 olympics, the iPhone will either have some real competition or everyone will have one (just as the iPod became ubiquitous).
makes it easier to spot the idiots. look for apples.
seroiusly, how does mobile coverage matter? not exactly a spectacle
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Comment number 8.
At 4th Dec 2009, Roger Mosey - ´óÏó´«Ã½ Director, London 2012 wrote:Really interesting comments - many thanks.
I think we're largely agreed that there will be a lot of the Olympics that are still huge television moments, and if we had to choose just one thing it would be fantastic high definition coverage for larger screens. So I accept what Tenipurist says in #1 and Chris C in #6 - tv and web may do it for millions of people in the audience.
But rjaggar in #3 is right that mobiles can perform a lot of useful functions too, and they'll be part of the UK experience in 2012 - even if they're not shoving TVs out of the picture. And, as stuartjmiddleton1 says in #4, there are times for many of us when we're at the bus-stop or on the train and need a quick update...
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Comment number 9.
At 5th Dec 2009, dennisjunior1 wrote:Roger Mosey:
Thanks for the informative reportage about having TEA with London Mayor...And, getting set up for the 2012 London Olympics....
~Dennis Junior~
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Comment number 10.
At 8th Dec 2009, Jordan D wrote:Has to be said Roger - the text commentary at the Olympics was a Godsend last year. When your website refused to let me watch any coverage (despite being on a UK network and in the UK), the text coverage & 5Live got me through. By extension, they both worked on my mobile and when I was at the Emirates Stadium on the first day of the season 2008/9, on the middle weekend (Super Saturday) when Team GB were wiping the veledrome floor, the text commentary & radio commentary nailed it far better than anything else.
Advance by all means, but don't change the simplistic things that work so very well.
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Comment number 11.
At 9th Dec 2009, Roger Mosey - ´óÏó´«Ã½ Director, London 2012 wrote:Jordan D - I agree completely about text commentary. I use it myself all the time, but more important - it's very popular indeed with audiences.
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