Braj Mohan Chaturvedi: 07/24/08

Birth of Fourth Screen
2007, Barcelona, Spain hosted the 3GSM World Congress. It marked the entry of the Indian film industry into the GSM communication arena. At this event, Indian film industry showcased its first film specially created for mobile phone users across the world. No wonder the 3GSM World Congress also witnessed the birth of Fourth Screen (the Silver Screen, TV, PC, and now Mobile screen) in India. This move is expected to have a huge impact not only on the Indian mobile phone market but also on the media industry. The emergence of the Fourth Screen can be seen as the first step towards Indian film industry‘s foray into the mobile entertainment market. It also marked the emergence of the mobile phone from merely a communication device to becoming a major source of entertainment.

First Movie on Fourth Screen
The movie showcased at the 3GSM World Congress was Dus Kahaniyaan. It is one of innovative story telling initiative which was tailored for mobile devices. Dus Kahaniyaan was produced by one of the leading Bollywood producers Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay Gupta’s entry in the mobile entertainment market was supported by GSMA, Roamware Inc., and Hungama Mobile. MVAS company, Roamware helped producers of Dus Kahaniyaan. in integrating the film content into the mobile phone through its ‘Media Call’ technology. Hungama helped in publishing the mobile phone content. The mobile VAS providers – Roamware, and Hungama Mobile saw tremendous potential in Bollywood movies. They believed that formatting the content for the mobile audience would increase the reach of the movie. The features like simplicity of delivery ease of use, and accessibility provides the fourth screen edge over others.
The fourth screen has also hit serials. This is the age of Internet and mobile serials, Rajshri Media, India’s leading Web and Mobile Studio, has launched Akbar Birbal remixed. The Akbar Birbal remixed is 3 minute a piece 90 episode series. The Akbar Birbal remixed, set in the by-lanes of Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai. (Read report on http://chaturvedibraj.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/akbar-birbal-remixed-a-new-beginning/)

MVAS to play critical role in development of Fourth ScreenThe MVAS market in India is fragmented and each player have unique value offering. These MVAS providers can join hands and develop a pool which jointly offers complete entertainment package. In the case of Dus Kahaniyaan two different MVAS players – Hungama Mobile had experience in content publishing and Roamware had global reach, collaborated to develop the offerings.
Handset Manufacturers role in development of Fourth ScreenWhile mobile entertainment companies have been developing interesting content for the mobile phone users, mobile handset companies have tried to come out with the latest technologies that support such offerings. In late 2007, Nokia entered into an agreement with leading Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan for making movie clips, ring tones, wallpapers for his film, Om Shanti Om.

Conclusion
Mobile entertainment is poised to drive not only mobile entertainment industry in a big way but also attracting advertisers who are also viewing it as an attractive new media channel.

Katyayana

This Blog is dedicated to all the Management Professionals who want to challenge the set pattern, who are practical in their approach and dont think in thin air; who believe that strategy is all about making things simple; who strongly advocate the “Rule of Simple” and who believe that impossible is nothing. - Just like Katyayana. Katyayana was a disciple of Gautama Buddha. He is also known as Kaccana or Kaccayana, Mahakatyayana, Mahakaccana and in Japanese as Kasennen. Katyayana is one of the “Ten Disciples of the Buddha”. Mahakashyapa, Ananda, Shariputra, Subhuti, Purna, Mahamaudgalyayana, Katyayana, Aniruddha, Upali and Rahula. He was foremost in explaining Dharma. He was born in a brahmin family at Ujjayini (Ujjain) and received a classical Brahminical education studying the Vedas. Katyayana was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India, around the time of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. He is known for two works:- The Varttika, an elaboration on Panini’s grammar. Along with the Maha-bhasya of Patanjali, this text became a core part of the vyakarana (grammar) canon. This was one of the six Vedangas, and constituted compulsory education for Brahman students in the following twelve centuries.- He also composed one of the later Sulba Sutras, a series of nine texts on the geometry of altar constructions, dealing with rectangles, right-sided triangles, rhombuses, etc. Katyayana certainly have been a man of very considerable learning but probably not interested in mathematics for its own sake, merely interested in using it for religious purposes.He wrote the Sulbasutra to provide rules for religious rites and to improve and expand on the rules which had been given by his predecessors. Katyayana would have been a priest instructing the people in the ways of conducting the religious rites he describes. Authorship: Nettipakarana, a work of grammar, and Petakopadesa, a treatise on exegetical methodology, sulvasutras dealt with geometry.

Mobile Phone – The Fourth Screen