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If a picture's worth a thousand words - and text messages are only 160 characters - then sports fans are sure to want picture-based services as they upgrade to colour screen mobile phones. This year could be when mobile alert, picture and video services make a big impact for the firsttime.
In this article, Phil O'Brien, chief executive of EMPICS, looks at the revenue opportunities for sports picture messaging in 2004 and beyond, and describes the results of two recent trials of the company's innovative NMSP messaging technology at English Premiership and Football League soccer clubs. Whilst the headlines are being grabbed by video clips for 3G phones, O'Brien explains why still images are likely to be more popular and generate more revenue - not least because the number of phones they can work on is far larger than for 3G. EMPICS has developed a new technology that delivers still sports pictures, rather than video clips, to mobile phones as well as to websites, within 20 seconds of camera click. The process, called NMSP (New Media Stills Production), allows fans to get rapid access to the best sports photography. Speed is crucial to its appeal - fans want to see goals as soon as they've been scored.
There is an undoubted appeal to video clips, but still images offer some great advantages:  Small file size Fast download time Cheap to download Available in near real-time Works on standard GSM network Works with any picture phone Low battery drain for handset High-resolution images Can show broad range of content in one download.
As it uses a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) web browser, which is commonly available on mobile phones, the NMSP service is compatible with any WAP picture phone, and does not require a 3G handset. It can also be used to send photos to mobile phones using picture messaging, or MMS (Multimedia Message Services). EMPICS is developing NMSP as a service that can be branded by a rights holder, for example a soccer club, or offered to subscribers by a mobile network.
In outline the NMSP process uses a wireless network at the sports event to transmit pictures from the photographers' digital cameras to the online editor, who then selects the best images. These are then transmitted to the EMPICS offices, from where they are sent on to websites and mobile phones, all within 20 seconds of the picture being taken. What the fans thinkTo test the NMSP service, EMPICS recently ran a series of trials at Manchester United, Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest soccer clubs.
EMPICS surveyed fans and delivered pictures to them during several matches in April and May 2004. The pictures were delivered in two ways to different groups of fans: as MMS picture messages, or via a WAP Push.
The results were interesting:
· There were indications of a healthy appetite among club fans for picture messaging services. Over 2,000 fans with colour phones applied to take part in the picture messaging trials and 65% of these said they were "very interested" in the service.
· Among those who received picture alerts during the trials, 74% liked the service. The trial service was especially popular among the younger (under 24) age group.
· A high number of fans taking part in survey were not previously subscribed to any soccer SMS alert services. The high interest and liking of the service indicate significant potential to convert current non-subscribers - picture messaging may act as the catalyst.
· More regular users of WAP liked the service more and found it easier to use - and the majority of the sample used WAP at least once a month.
· Goal alerts can have a downside: one fan was upset that he was sent pictures of when the opposition scored, as well as his side's goals.
Service uptake will track the adoption of colour phones with better screens, and the user experience will improve as people get more familiar with WAP and MMS services. EMPICS also found that more people are getting their phones correctly set up by the shop or service provider when they buy them - which was surprisingly rare until very recently.
Interestingly, the fans of the Football League clubs were slightly more positive and enthusiastic than those of the Premiership clubs. Maybe this is something to do with Premiership fans already having more options to see, hear and read coverage of their clubs.
Peter Norman, commercial director of Wireless Information Network, which provided the MMS technology for the trials, commented: "The trials proved to us that the ideal combination is having the right content, delivered with MMS technology that makes that content easily accessible to the sports fan - anywhere, any time." 
Revenue potentialIf the picture messaging market is compared with SMS (text message) goal alerts, it is probably where the SMS market was a couple of years ago, but catching up fast.
Looking at the current market for SMS soccer messages in the UK, there's somewhere around 400,000 subscribers, each receiving an average of five alerts per game (three goals, half-time and full-time round-ups).
With 40 games per club per season, that's 80m alerts per year, equivalent at 25p ($0.45) per alert to a £20m ($36m) annual revenue opportunity. I believe that fans are likely to be prepared to pay more for images than for text alerts, so the market for picture messages could be well above this.
When you compare this to the music industry, the potential starts to look even more impressive. According to a recent study by Mobile Youth, spending on ringtones in the UK is over £100m ($183m) a year and growing fast, with an average price of around £1.50 ($2.75) per download.
There's also a clear upselling opportunity, to move fans from information, to interaction and browsing on a WAP website, to downloading a wallpaper of a goal or particular picture.
In the EMPICS trial, despite the wallpaper service not being advertised, 46% of fans downloaded images as wallpaper from a link at the bottom of the picture alerts (rising to 59% of those aged under 24). Users perceived this as a valuable additional feature with a high liking rating (89%). Whilst EMPICS didn't charge for the image, the fans had to pay for their network access charges - all the indications point towards a strong interest in this kind of personalisation service.
For the trial, Image Semantics provided technology to combine images and captions, send them to mobiles reliably, and deliver wallpapers to fans. CEO Richard Harris commented: "Quality is a key differentiator in mobile imaging, and together we have set a standard for mobile sports alerts. The high number of wallpaper downloads in this trial is due to the great pictures available, and the fact that we could deliver them with no loss of quality." The futureWhile I'll watch the uptake of 3G video clip services with interest, the still image market is where the revenue potential is going to be over the next few years. GSM mobile phones are ubiquitous, and fans are becoming more aware of the services available - especially amongst the crucial youth market.
If the results of our trials are anything to go by, there's a demand from fans for high-quality photography, delivered quickly to their mobiles, and they're prepared to pay for it.
EMPICS was recently acquired by The Press Association - the national news agency of the UK and Ireland. Phil O'Brien can be contacted on 0115 844 7401 or at phil.obrien@empics.com
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