March 20, 2006 AirPlay Hopes To Merge Live TV With Mobile Phones By Antone Gonsalves Courtesy of Page 1 of 2 Startup AirPlay Network Inc. on Monday unveiled plans to launch in the fall multiplayer interactive games for mobile phones that would be synchronized with live sports and other TV programming. AirPlayTV would enable viewers to use their cellular phones as gaming devices to, for example, choose winners and losers in reality TV programs, compete against contestants in game shows and predict plays in football games and other sporting events. The games would be tied to social networks, so a person could play with other AirPlay subscribers. "This type of capability brings people back to live TV and engages the consumer more," Morgan Guenther, chief executive and chairman of San Francisco-based AirPlay, said. "We can give people a more immersive experience that we believe is a win for everyone in the industry." The way Guenther sees it, carriers will benefit financially from more people using their services longer, and program producers and networks would get a more involved audience that could be reached more effectively by advertisers. Provided consumers don't get walloped by unexpected cellular-phone fees, they get to have fun by doing more than just passively watching a program. Julie Ask, analyst for JupiterResearch, said teenagers and young adults are using data services more on their mobile phones, particularly text messaging. Beyond messaging, participation in polls is among the biggest categories for data services. Fully, 7 percent of online mobile subscribers participate in some type of voting, according to JupiterResearch. Carriers are also reporting significant levels of use of data services. Verizon at the end of last year said 46 percent of its customers used some type of data service, while Sprint reported 44 percent. "There's definitely a market there, but it's a young one," Ask said. For AirPlay to be successful, it will need to connect its service with TV programs watched by teenagers and young adults, who are most likely to use their phones for more than just voice. Programs attractive to these groups include Comedy Central, MTV and reality TV. E-mail This Story Print This Story Page 2: next page Page 1 | 2 Get the latest Messaging news, product info, and trends every week.			RIM Settles BlackBerry Suit McAfee Debuts Security Tools For Mobile Devices IT Execs Taking Cautious Approach To RIM Workaround Plan Visto Has Eyes For RIM BlackBerry Users Mobile E-Mail Challenges Go Beyond Patent Disputes Roaming: Cheap And Easy Mobile E-Mail     Messaging Pipeline's Main RSS Feed     Messaging Pipeline's Blog RSS Feed Editorial and vendor perspectives The Six Flavors Of Windows Vista Microsoft plans to release a full six-pack of Vista versions, one for every taste. Which Vista will be right for you? Hope is Not Enough When It Comes To Compliance Three Ways To Authenticate E-Mail And Stop Spam Wikis In The Workplace Review: Google Desktop 3 Vendors are now talking about how collaboration can be improved by integrating video with messaging applications. They're even talking about adding live TV to mobile phones. How far do you go before it becomes a bandwidth and business productivity drain? Video is a great idea     13% Video is fine but there needs to be size limits     25% It's never used for anything really productive     38% I draw the line at live TV     25% In search of messaging products? Check out our brand new Product Finder for a directory of groupware and collaboration tools, security products, archiving solutions, and more.