European Broadcasting Union, Switzerland: In tune

In a world first, the European Broadcasting Union joins forces with Ericsson to deliver an enhanced Eurovision experience on the mobile channel

The Eurovision Song Contest has been running for an impressive 54 years. It holds the accolade for one of the longest running television shows in the world. A total of 51 countries with over 1,000 entries have taken part in the contest over the last five decades, making it a truly international event.

With 125 million viewers and a dedicated legion of fans, Eurovision has a ready-made audience hungry for the latest news and updates on the contest. Appealing to youth culture is important and bringing information to fans on the move is an obvious plus point for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organizers of the event.
Another level

Every year the EBU works with a technical partner and in 2010 it chose to team up with Ericsson to take its mobile content to the next level. Ericsson responded with a trial of the world’s first cloud-based mobile TV solution which was launched during the semi-finals and final of the contest.

The unique solution means that all the computing and calculations required to create a superior user experience now take place in the cloud. This removes the need for the user to download a Java client or an application to their mobile phone, allowing them to automatically enjoy an advanced site in a more user-friendly way.

Kurt Sillén, Head of Customer Business Development, Business Unit Multimedia, Ericsson explains: "We provided an ability to follow the Eurovision song contest before, during and after the actual event, both on-demand and live – and we did it with a new level of user experience. Not only does the cloud-based solution connect directly through the web browser on the phone. Using the existing capability within the device, it automatically adapts to the browsers on 800 different handset models."

The software behind the solution which determines the browser type and controls the user experience has taken several years to develop. This is the first time Ericsson has applied this kind of functionality to a mobile TV user experience. The cloud-based solution guaranteed immediate global reach which was vital for a site like m.eurovision.tv with such an international following.
Going viral

The experiment has proven to be a great success. The site has been accessed by fans in Germany, Sweden, Russia, Norway, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Turkey, the Netherlands, Greece and Australia.

EBU relied very much on word-of-mouth with promotion limited to the event website and a Facebook page. The approach paid off and numerous blogs and tweets from fans successfully spread the word, resulting in an impressive 41,000 page views. Statistics implied that users found what they were looking for too as the average session length came in at 17 minutes.

Nicoletta Iacobacci, Head of ITV & Crossmedia, European Broadcasting Union says: "We know that for our digital viewers the user experience is of paramount importance. The success of this trial has proven that a great experience can be provided on 3G phones with minimum expenditure. The buzz that it has created, attracting more than 40,000 people, confirms the value of this channel for us."
Reach for the skies

Ericsson was able to deliver the ground-breaking solution in record time, just three weeks after signing the agreement. Nicoletta Iacobacci adds: "Working with Ericsson has been easy. We specified our needs and they delivered in every area. For us it has been a win-win situation: maximum value at minimum cost, both in terms of time and money."

The success of the experiment with EBU shows that a superior mobile experience can be provided by 3G mobile phones more easily than ever before, highlighting the massive potential for growth in this area. This world first could be replicated in a wide range of scenarios for broadcasters, media players or telecom operators. It makes a quality user experience more widely available in a simple and cost efficient way.
About European Broadcasting Union, Switzerland

With its headquarters in Geneva the European Broadcasting Union is the largest association of national broadcasters in the world. It provides cooperation between broadcasters and facilitates the exchange of audiovisual content. The organization is at the forefront of new media. It promotes open technical standards and interoperability for the benefit of broadcasters and consumers, exploring the opportunities presented by new technologies.