Press release
Embargoed until 25th August 2006
Flextech Television and Mobrio create ‘UGC’ micro-site for Media Guardian Edinburgh International TV Festival (MGEITF)
Visitors to this year’s MGEITF will get a unique opportunity to express their thoughts on the Festival, the industry, and its issues, via ‘TV Festival Homegrown’ - a new User Generated Content (UGC) micro-site conceived by youth entertainment channel Trouble, part of Festival sponsor Flextech Television, and developed by Mobrio, the online social networking and user generated content company.
The site at www.tvfestivalhomegrown.co.uk facilitates the submission and viewing of user-generated content including video streaming to provide an inclusive and interactive community platform for MGEITF visitors to ‘air and share’ views, news, pictures and videos, during and after the show.
Edward Humphrey, Head of Interactive, Flextech Television, said: “TV Festival Homegrown builds on Flextech’s reputation as user-generated content pioneers following the success of Trouble Homegrown. MGEITF is the ideal opportunity for the TV community to debate the merits of UGC and TV Festival Homegrown will be the perfect forum to enable this.”
He continued: “We are delighted to continue working with our preferred UGC partner Mobrio on this project. They have created a compelling, feature-rich site which showcases the power of UGC to the TV community and offers a new dimension for debate at the Festival.”
Setting up a short term micro-site offering the levels of functionality required for a major broadcast event is a complex task. Even though it is live for only a brief period around the show, the development process undertaken is similar to that of a more permanent site. Using its licensed technology solution deployed by an experienced team, Mobrio was able to create the site in two weeks, making it a viable commercial activity even for a three day conference.
Julian Swallow, CEO of Mobrio comments, “To reflect the nature of the Festival, the site had to be engaging, vibrant and fun - a fresh, compelling and easy-to-use means to exchange views, clips and opinions. As with all UGC sites, simplicity and speed of content uploading and access is everything - any barrier to usability undermines take-up and its value as a means to communicate. The MGEITF micro-site is intuitive, convenient and fast - ensuring delegates keep coming back to ‘view and post’ more.”
‘TV Festival Homegrown’ is able to receive, format and present all consumer-generated content in a quick and flexible manner, regardless of the type and file format of the content submitted. Users simply register and set up a profile to upload files from their PC or mobile phone. One of the distinct advantages of Mobrio’s platform is its ability to accept video clips in all the leading video codecs. This means that contributors need not worry about the technicalities of submitting content and can post and share pictures and video clips, easily with just a few clicks.
How will the industry respond to the site? Swallow concludes, “With user-generated content sites, platforms for photo sharing, video sharing and blogging, now comprising five out of the top 10 fastest growing Web brands in July 2006 (Nielsen//NetRatings) - the revolution in web interactivity has arrived. The broadcast industry has begun to embrace the value of online communities as a natural extension to their existing web assets and channels. Mobrio believes UGC platforms can help develop and drive viewer loyalty and engagement, as well as providing commissioning editors and producers a valuable insight into the nature of interactive content that their viewers truly desire.”
About Mobrio
Mobrio is a social networking and user-generated content services company based in London and Kiev. The company designs, builds, manages and moderates online communities for third party organizations for the fixed and mobile Internet. Mobrio's technology is used by leading media and entertainment brands such as Flextech Television, MTV, and teen e-zine, mykindaplace.
About Flextech Television
Flextech Television provides entertainment and transactional channels to the UK multi-channel television market. Flextech owns 6 entertainment channels - LIVINGtv, LIVINGtv 2, Bravo, Challenge, Trouble, Ftn (plus their time shifted variants) and transactional channels price-drop tv, bid tv, speed auction tv and screenshop.
Flextech also has a 50% interest in UKTV, a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, which consists of ten channels: UKTV Gold, UKTV G2, UKTV Drama, UKTV Style, UKTV Style Gardens, UKTV Food, UKTV History, UKTV Documentary, UKTV People and UK Bright Ideas. Together Flextech and UKTV are the largest supplier of basic channels to the UK pay-TV market.
About MGEITF
The Festival is open to anyone working in the broadcasting industry and offers delegates a varied programme of sessions, screenings, masterclasses, interviews, keynote lectures and networking opportunities from leading UK and international media figures. The Festival takes place from 12.30pm on Friday 25 August to Sunday 27 August. The Festival annually attracts over 1900 delegates from all sectors and levels of the industry.
For further information about Mobrio, visit www.mobrio.com or send email to info@mobrio.com.
