MEF Asia Elects New Board in Macau

Representatives from Bharti Airtel, i-POP Networks, Netbiscuits, Paymo and Radius-ED were voted onto the MEF Asia board this week at the annual general meeting held during Mobile Asia Congress in Macau on 19 November 2008.

The new board subsequently voted to elect Neeraj Roy (Hungama) as Chairman and to appoint Faissal Houhou (Paymo) as Vice-Chairman. Outgoing Chairman Stefan Rust was awarded an Emeritus title in recognition of his leadership of MEF Asia since the inaugural elections in 2005. 

“I am delighted to see the formation of the new MEF Asia board, with representatives from all the stakeholders in the value chain. I would like to acknowledge the work and efforts of the outgoing Chairman, Stefan Rust, and look at further developing Mobile and Digital entertainment in what is still the fastest growing region in the world - Asia. In many ways the need for an enhanced focus on mobile entertainment and value added services could not be more timely given the global economic environment. The MEF Asia board will work closely with the Global, EMEA and Americas chapters and continue to bring innovation to the forefront of the telecom, media, entertainment and advertising industries.”   

Neeraj Roy, MEF Asia Chairman

MEF Asia Board 2008/2009

• Chairman: Neeraj Roy - MD & CEO, Hungama Mobile
  
• Vice Chair: Faissal Houhou - VP International Business Development, Paymo

Board Directors:

• Joerg Krahnert - Director Business Development, APAC, Netbiscuits
  
• Colin Miles - Co-founder & Executive VP, i-POP Networks
  
• PS Parasuram - Head of New Product Development & Content, Bharti Airtel
  
• Pankaj Sethi - President, Corporate Strategy and Services, Tata Teleservices
  
• Dr Bruno Sorrentino - Founder & CEO, Radius-ED
  
• Rosemary Tan - Director, Mobile Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Asia Pacific 
  
• MEF Asia Founder & Chairman Emeritus: Stefan Rust - Founder & Chairman, Catalist Group

MEF also collaborated with GSMA to help produce the 'Entertainment Evolved' session at Mobile Asia Congress. Other activities included MEF Initiative meetings on Content Sales Reporting and Mobile Video, as well as the launch of the SE Asia Ad-Funded Mobile Entertainment report – available for download to MEF members here.

New research predicts revenues will reach $2.6 million by 2013 and help offset piracy

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) says ad-funded mobile content will offset piracy losses in South East Asia and help grow the industry as a whole.

The trade body's new members-only report on Ad-Funded Mobile Entertainment (AFME) forecasts that Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand will generate $2.6 million in revenue by 2013.

That's not an astronomical number by any stretch, but the MEF says the figure is equivalent to a not-so-insignificant 52 million click-throughs, thus highlighting the potential of the sector.

A point made in the research is that AFME will help offset the revenues lost to piracy on mobile content such as games, music and ringtones, helping to grow the  local industry  beyond ‘network controlled’ content such as ringback tones.

Stefan Rust, MEF Asia Chair, said:

“Our membership is telling us there are clear benefits to ad-funded content. This is not just replacing revenues lost through piracy but also helping to grow mobile entertainment revenues in the long-term. This growth in mobile entertainment revenues reflects a maturing mobile data market across Asia and will also drive innovation for mobile advertising to develop beyond messaging and banner advertisements.”

MEF members can access the full report here.

MEF Meets in Dubai

More than 80 people from the local and international mobile entertainment scene attended the first MEF Meets in Dubai on 3 November 2008.

The networking event, hosted by du, took place in the spectacular surroundings of the 24th floor ‘Uptown Bar’ of the Jumeirah Beach hotel, with impressive views of the 7 star Burj El Arab hotel and the ever changing Dubai coastline.

Here's a few photos from the event and we look forward to seeing you to the next MEF Meets in Dubai!

MEF & GSMA collaborate to bring the best of Mobile Entertainment to Macau

MEF is pleased to announce its official Asia event for 2008, Mobile Asia congress, and are inviting guests to attend the 'Entertainment Evolved'  session.

Leaders of the mobile and entertainment industries will come together for this exclusive mobile entertainment session from 2:00 - 5:30pm on November 18th at the Venetian, Macau.

Kicking off with an executive keynote by China Mobile Executive Director and Vice President, Xiangdong Lu and moderated by MEF Asia Vice-Chair and Hungama CEO, Neeraj Roy, the 'Entertainment Evolved' session shines light on the best in Asian Mobile Entertainment and galvanizes Asia’s mobile content community.

Speakers include:

• Samir Bangara, Indiagames
  
• Ringo Chan, Turner International AP Ltd
  
• Venkat Eswara, Motorola
  
• Robert Hayes, Glu
  
• Ishwar Jha, Zee Films (India)
  
• Sissel Larson, Digicom (MEF EMEA Board Director)
  
• Eric Mallia, SMART-Tone (Hong Kong)
  
• Colin Miles, i-POP Networks
  
• Sandy Monteiro, Universal Music Group International
  
• Yen Ong, Soundbuzz Pte Ltd
  
• TC Pan, Nokia China
  
• Richard Robinson, Kooky Panda
  
• Neeraj Roy, Hungama (MEF Asia Vice-Chair)
  
• Pankaj Sethi, Tata Teleservices (MEF Asia Board Director)
  
• Tamara Steffens, Fusion One
  
• Sebastien Thevenet, Gameloft
  
• Horden Wiltshire, m.Net Corporation

Other MEF highlights of the Congress include keynote session 'Dynamic & Direct - Mobile Entertainment' featuring MEF Asia Chair, Stefan Rust, as well as speakers from EA, Nokia and Hutchison. This keynote session takes place on Wednesday, November 19th at 11:00 am.

Click here to register for the congress. MEF members can receive a 10% discount on registration for Mobile Asia Congress by quoting ‘MEFMA' in the Discount Code field.

You can download the full congress brochure here and to find out about other upcoming MEF events, take a look at the MEF events page.