Channel 4 stays true to brand with good balance of content
nma.co.uk | 10 January 2008 | Joe Braman, Director of Product Development, Mobile Sales & Development, Turner Broadcasting
Channel 4
Agency: Channel 4/Que Pasa
Platform: Mobile IQ
Initially I was keen to review one of Turner Broadcasting’s WAP sites but decided to look at another broadcaster’s offering. Channel 4 has made much of its multi-platform approach so the terrestrial broadcaster seemed a natural choice.
Access
Using my Sony Ericsson K800i to access the portal, I attempted to navigate to Channel 4’s WAP site via Google. The Mobile Web (beta) option failed to return accurate results until I discovered a Channel 4 banner advertising free Hollyoaks wallpapers. I was able to manually type in http://mobile.channel4.com, which directed me straight to the portal. Another method was to send a text to a shortcode which is occasionally advertised on TV, and this worked well. When I tried to search for Channel 4 from Orange World on my Nokia N70, I was taken straight to the portal. Overall the access to Channel 4’s WAP site is fine.
Presentation
I was quite excited by the prospect of downloading a free Hollyoaks wallpaper, in among other home-page links including Deal or No Deal, classic comedy clips, new TV clips and a trailer for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. However, I do feel that there should be more content for boys as well as girls. Only one Hollyoaks cast member wallpaper is offered for free. While I like the setup of this section, I’ve checked it a few times over the past week and, although the cast member rotates, it seems to always be the boys who are free to download.
From the navigation bar at the foot of the page there are eight links. The most innovative of these points to Dubplate Drama (pictured), the inner-city teen drama that broadcasts on Channel 4, E4, MTV One, MTV Base, MySpace and mobile networks. Overall presentation was good, the site was easy to follow and the branding was nice and subtle. I was surprised at the lack of advertising on the home page but came across some banners within sub-sections.
Usability
I downloaded a free episode of Dubplate Drama, the show that allows viewers to vote how the story continues via a multiple choice dilemma at the end of every episode. At 750Kbps, the video took over a minute to download and failed to play on my N70. I wonder how free this will be when my next bill arrives, allowing for data charges. On the K800i the video launched, preceded by a short ad, and ended with the voting call to action. Generally the site is intuitive, pages load within 20 seconds, which is okay for mobile, and it was always clear when I was about to be charged by the site. I found Channel 4 to offer an enjoyable user experience.
Bottom line
This portal has a good balance between paid-for content, free content and informative services. It’s a great example of a well-thought-out WAP site that provides exactly what you’d would expect from Channel 4.
Joe Braman is director of product development, mobile sales & development at Turner Broadcasting
