The CTIA IT Show is still a few months away, but it appears that entertainment will dominate this show as it has done over the past several years. The conference, which originally was launched as an enterprise-oriented event, has become synonymous with mobile entertainment thanks to significant growth (and hype) in this segment.
The conference, which will take place Oct. 23-25 in San Francisco, has developed a strong following among mobile entertainment firms. Take a look at some of the past keynote speakers: Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment; Peter Chernin, president and COO of News Corp. and Trip Hawkins, chairman and CEO of Digital Chocolate. Entertainment has become a dominant player in this conference, even though enterprise firms still make up the majority of the show.
According to Rob Mesirow, vice president of operations at CTIA, we can expect some high-profile entertainment companies to make their mark at this year’s conference. Facebook co-founder and vice president of engineering Dustin Moskovitz will keynote the second day of the conference, and Mesirow indicated the company will be announcing some interesting news.
Mesirow also hinted CTIA is going to be doing something interesting to build consumer awareness of mobile video at the show. He says while 50 percent of all phones in the marketplace can handle video, only about 3 percent of consumers are using their devices for video. CTIA is working with a firm that can tell consumers whether their phone is capable of using video and, if it is, they will send you a video clip. "We will have some very special guests in the entertainment space doing some videos and sending them to people," Mesirow says. "This is a good way for people to experience video on the handset."
Of course, mobile entertainment will also be showcased at Billboard's Mobile Entertainment Live!, which will be co-located with CTIA IT and held Oct. 22. True to form, this conference will have a splashy keynoter: music legend Quincy Jones. Other key speakers include AT&T's new vice president of consumer data Mark Collins and Rio Caraeff, Universal Music Group's general manager of the mobile division and EVP of eLabs.