Southern Cross Austereo takes stake in telco and digital broadcasting startup OVO Mobile
Southern Cross Austereo has taken a $5m stake in media and communications start-up OVO Mobile and its digital broadcasting platform, OVOPlay.
Ovo, which describes itself as a ‘hybrid telco‘, offers free mobile content from broadcasting and sports partners to subscribers of its mobile phone services. Barry O’Brien, chair of Atomic 212 and former sales boss of Network Ten, is the chairman of the firm’s parent company, My Mobile Data.
“It’s our broadcasting focus that sets OVO apart,” says CEO Matt Jones
Matt Jones, chief executive of OVO, said in the media announcement: “SCA’s decision to take a stake in OVO will allow us to escalate our push to sign up more sports and other entertainment offerings to OVOPlay, attract larger audiences and bring more people across to our mobile offerings. We’re delighted that they’ve seen the value and potential of what we’re building,” he added.
“Our mobile offering is strong, but it’s our broadcasting focus that sets OVO apart and gives us our higher purpose, which is attracting big audiences for sports that otherwise struggle to gain traction.”
Sports that have given OVO exclusive digital broadcasting rights include Gymnastics Australia, Water Polo Australia, Supercheap Auto V8 Supercars team, 400 Thunder Drag Racing and World SuperBikes.
SCA’s Triple M and Hit Network stations are also available to OVO mobile customers data free.
Brian Gallagher, SCA’s chief sales officer, added: “SCA is attracted to OVO’s business model of offering compelling mobile telecommunications offerings built around its own digital platform for unique sport and entertainment content.
“Sport is the biggest immediate synergy between OVO and SCA. Sport is integral to our Triple M network and increasingly popular on our PodcastOne network with podcasts like Howie Games. We think there are great untapped opportunities for us to work with OVO to bring great content to the target audiences our clients are seeking to reach.”
Interesting move by Austereo, you would think there is a reciprocal content agreement in the making? (Not in the press release?)
I’ve heard that Australian carriers don’t care about zero tariff content and ‘it doesn’t move the needle’ (and based on Ovo’s existing content partners I’d have to agree) however if you look at the USA market MetroPCS has built an entire brand on it successfully so maybe Ovo is the one to change the model.
Of course for every MetroPCS……there is a failed AMP’d as well…..so maybe not.
Cheers,
Dean
User ID not verified.
OVO is hardly a “start up” company. It’s been operating for nearly two years!
User ID not verified.
Heya Dean,
Tminus 1 year unlimited data will be here. Until then, and indeed for many who wont be prepared to pay the price for unlimited, data free is a hassle free way to watch 100’s of hours of content without having to self meter.
Actually the key insight is we have created a broadcast for sports that never had a broadcast. They have some of the highest participation rates of sports in OZ: Gymnastics, Water Polo etc and no way to watch what they are most passionate about.
And then there is the network effect of having real relationships with customers, not with their eyeballs. This results in this: http://www.400thunder.com.au/4.....n-2016-17/
When you can scale niches (relative to the 4 major codes) with a low incremental cost, you have model that disrupts traditional media distributors, significantly. Just ask The Gang of 4.
But you know what this model does more than anything else? – it proves, subject to natural market forces (read: regulatory intervention), that there will be no discernable difference between telco and media from a consumer point of view in 5 years time.
Key question is then, who wins ? The subscriber – and as a subscriber I may as well hook the phone/tablet/TV up to the network that brings me the content service…
Cheers
MJ
User ID not verified.