TV Guide exec speaks to mobile monetization strategy

By Giselle Tsirulnik

April 20, 2011

TV Guide is ahead of the mobile publishing game

With many publishers only now beginning to move their content to mobile, monetizing on the medium is challenging, according to TV Guide Digital, which was dabbling in the space even before the iPhone was launched.
TV Guide now has nearly 3 million application downloads across Android, iPhone and iPad. The iPhone accounts for nearly 2 million downloads, while Android comprises about 700,000 and iPad downloads are around 300,000.
“We took our time to get the app right – we have loyal customers with high expectations and made sure the app met those customer needs prior to launch,” said Christy Tanner, general manager of TV Guide Digital, New York. “We achieved 3 million downloads with minimal advertising investment by leveraging our existing properties to promote the app.”
Selling mobile ads
By August 2010, TV Guide realized that it could begin to monetize its mobile offerings, as it now had a mobile Web site and mobile apps for several of the major platforms.
The company uses AdMob’s AdWhirl to mediate between ads that come from the sales teams and ads from the AdMob network to ensure that all ad requests are filled.
The reason that TV Guide went with AdMob is selling ads on mobile is still relatively new for its sales team. It relies on the AdMob mobile ad network when it has unsold inventory.
“If mobile can help you better engage with your customers, then don’t wait,” Ms. Tanner said. “Get your feet wet so when you want to go big in mobile you will be better prepared.
“With ad networks, such as AdMob, you can monetize almost instantly, so why not do it?” she said. 
Figuring out mobile users
Mobile users expect a seamless experience that includes frequent updates.
TV Guide’s development cycle for mobile mirrors its online business. The company constantly provides new features and content to keep users engaged.
Both users and advertisers expect to see the same features in-app that are available of the PC desktop site, regardless of the smaller screen.
“The feedback loop for a mobile app is much better than on the Web,” Ms. Tanner said. “By monitoring ratings and reviews we were able to promptly identify the features that customers expected in the app.
“This instant feedback is a powerful tool that anyone developing on mobile should use to their advantage,” she said.
Minimal advertising spend
TV Guide claims that it was able to reach 3 million installations with minimal advertising spend.
Instead of using mobile ads to drive users to download, the company leveraged its existing media channels to reach its audience and let them know about the app.

TV Guide pushed its apps on its mobile Web site
This proved to be a successful yet economical way to build a strong mobile user base and allowed the company to focus resources on improving the existing app and building for new mobile platforms such as Android and iPad.
“We knew that mobile was an exciting new distribution channel to explore, and the growth of our apps has far exceeded our expectations,” Ms. Tanner said. “The growth of our mobile properties is encouraging as we explore additional opportunities to create new products that are at the forefront of innovation in our industry.”
The brand’s cross-platform approach to mobile lets consumers access TV Guide content on various devices. Ms. Tanner claims that by doing so, TV Guide is creating a stronger relationship with its existing online users.
And, TV Guide has actually acquired new customers via mobile.
Building a mobile business
TV Guide’s daily content updates are what keep customers coming back to the app.
Continuously updating content is imperative for any publisher to retain customers on mobile.
For TV Guide, an ad-supported model made sense.
“Mobile is already a big part of our business, but the challenge is figuring out how to support both online and mobile content,” Ms. Tanner said. “Ad networks, like AdMob, make it easy for us to explore mobile and monetize it now, but we hope to see more parity in monetization between online and mobile in the future.”
Final Take
TV Guide's Ms. Tanner speaks to the company's mobile content monetization strategy