Vodafone’s Aussie arm is setting about convincing consumers there is such a thing as a free lunch – with the launch of its advertiser-sponsored channel free4me. Presumably that’s a free lunch with a serving of adverts on the side?
Among the big names signed up to the channel, which will house mobile TV shows, competitions and car, entertainment and club guides, are Pepsi, Coke, and 20th Century Fox.
And it’s not just some TV that Voda is promising we’ll be getting free: the operator reckons that in three to five years’ time, “mobile content and possibly even mobile calls will be heavily subsidised by advertisers”. Interestingly, it doesn’t say where Vodafone stands on the whole gratis calling issue – it’s all done in the third person, so to speak.
While the likes of Blyk are proving there’s life in the ad-sponsored model, there’s still a bit of pushing and shoving to be done before operators work out just how much advertising consumers are willing to swallow.