Comments on: mvno a no go?

By: Joe Pemberton

Joe Pemberton — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 06:42:54 +0000

On the anniversary of Mobile ESPN’s closing, it’s sister MVNO Disney Mobile will also close. The outlook for MVNOs is not good.

By: MVNO a no go? « WAPTAD

MVNO a no go? « WAPTAD — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 20:35:16 +0000

[…] mvno a no go? […]

By: Kelly Goto

Kelly Goto — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:02:47 +0000

Josh, invaluable insight. I agree with the ‘Americans are cheap’ notion and that even for the most addictive behavior has a budget and ramifications - the least of which is to admit to the addiction and then add it to the family plan. The target audience might sneak in a hi-def TIVO or a new SLINGBOX but a monthly fee that is reviewed and budgeted for might be a hard stretch for this target audience.

By: Josh Williams

Josh Williams — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 17:54:35 +0000

Mobile ESPN was doomed from the get go for a handful of reasons, which can be summed up with explanation 1 above, “Americans are cheap.” However, ESPN / Disney should have seen this coming.

Their target market was predominately male, I’m loosely guessing between the ages of 20-50. On the younger side of that spectrum (i.e., college age and shortly thereafter) you simply don’t have the disposable income to pay for a luxury phone service.

On the older end of the spectrum you end up with men who are perhaps married, have families, and are likely to want a family plan for their mobile coverage (again, because its cheaper).

If I could add some sort of ESPN-esque smart-client to my existing Cingular plan, I’d probably be willing to pay $10 a month for it, and my wife and I can still share Cingular minutes, stay on the same network, blah blah blah.

But there’s no way I’m paying a premium so I can sit on one network while I’m paying a separate bill for the rest of my family on another network. Again, ESPN should have seen this coming.

Solution: Let the MVNOs share plans with their parent networks.

Unfortunately that’s much easier said than done, and will likely never happen.

By: Greg Fields

Greg Fields — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 01:46:02 +0000

There is an exception that proves this rule - Virgin Mobile. What they do differently than ESPN, Disney, Amped and even Cricket, is that Virgin Mobile US/Canada/Australia/UK (a) leverage the opportunity to be different than the competitors, (b) they integrate that difference into their brand promise, (c) they project + protect + portray their brand first and foremost and (d) they leverage their buying power to purchase low-end wireless terminals from ODMs and Tier 1 OEMS.

With this formula, Virgin Mobile is able to sell low-end handhelds to the 18-34 years old marketplace under a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) model and maximizes their slim profit margins.

If there were a lesson to be learned here, it would be to (1) focus on the niche opportunity and not the Total Addressable Market, (2) create/protect a lifestyle brand that celebrates the niche, and (3) apply a business model already tested in the target company of operation.

I guess it doesn’t hurt to have some magic Branson pixie dust spread over your strategic plans every so often to help secure sucess.