Vizimo Launches Programming-Discovery Service for Mobiles

A UK-based company called Vizimo has launched a service that it says
enables consumers to discover broadcast and on-demand programming
that is relevant to their individual tastes, manage their programming
choices, and discuss programming with other users. The service is
available in the UK on around 200 mobile phone models, the company
says, and will be extended to other countries and handsets later this
year. According to Vizimo, its service uses automated content analysis,
profiling and social networking to guide users to relevant TV
programming, and also provides tools for scheduling recordings and
reminders, and for chatting about content. It says the tools work in a
consistent manner across mobile handsets, the Web and compatible
set-top boxes.

Vizimo bills itself as working with broadcasters and media providers to
foster a "multi-level relationship with customers that leverages rich
interaction and its proprietary recommendation and profiling platform,"
and as enabling partners to "accelerate the adoption of converged media
services via mobile, Internet and television." The company says that it
is conducting trials with "leading European media providers" as well as
an invitation-only beta trial with end-users. It claims a number of
"industry-wide benefits" for its platform:

• Enabling platform owners to easily weave personalized content into
  people's "media lives," which, in turn, helps those platform owners
  monetize the long tail of their media investments through on-demand
  consumption of both archived and current content.
• Providing advertisers with an integrated platform for delivering
  targeted, cross-platform ad impressions, as well as a way to reach
  highly niche audiences. The company says that marketers can leverage
  user profiles and content classification to promote other content within
  the guide on a one-to-one basis.
• Providing producers and content owners with a powerful platform for
  expanding their market and reaching new viewers. Once a TV
  program's description is added to the Vizimo system, the company
  says, that content can be connected to users who have matching
  interests--thus providing a cost-effective way to attract relevant
  audiences.