It’s been one year since the inaugural Playback Mobile Forum, and gearing up for the next edition offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on how far Canada has come in the mobile space in that time.

Not very far, as it turns out.

The reasons are several. Only 2.3% of Canadian cell phone owners have devices that are video-enabled – lagging behind countries in Asia, Europe and the Middle East – and the video quality offered on those handsets is not top-notch. They aren’t exactly the ideal monitors for watching widescreen two-hour-plus feature films such as Spider-Man 2 or Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

But if you’ve been outdoors in the past few months, you’ve seen billboards promoting the ability of Bell phones to play these flicks. The concept seems cool for about a minute, but who really wants to watch a movie on a 3cm x 3.5cm screen, especially at a time when home video is enticing us with the big, hyper-real HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats?

Broadcasters looking to stake their claim in mobile – as well as Bell’s key competitors among carriers – say they have no desire to migrate long-form content to this platform, and are looking instead at more ‘snack-size’ offerings. Pickings thus far have been modest. You can get YouTube on your phone. Rogers signed a deal for 150 behind-the-scenes mobisodes relating to the CSI franchise.

The casters – which are by no means the only purveyors of content to consider in the digital domain – are frustrated in their dealings with the telcos, accusing them of operating walled gardens and not showing a willingness to invest in content. Of course, many an independent producer would simply turn to the casters and utter, ‘Now see how it feels!’

Speaking of which, mobile dealings between casters and producers have been far from smooth. Casters, both privates and the CBC, are expressing frustration over signing digital platform agreements with producers of drama, comedy and kids shows – essentially, programs made with CTF cash, as the fund is structured so that rights for the various platforms are not dealt with all at once. And the indie producers have dug in their heels on the matter, looking to negotiate traditional broadcast and digital media separately. And they can hardly be blamed for being protective of their rights – it’s not like most of them are making money hand over fist.

Nonetheless, the Ceeb says it has had a far easier time obtaining all platform rights from bigger players such as the NHL and FIFA.

It’s still early days in digital media. Nobody knows what the revenue models are going to be. Nobody even really knows the costs involved. As soon as the CBC had sewn up NHL rights for another six years, it unveiled some new digital features just in time for the playoffs, including pre- and post-game online extras and the ability for fans to dial in on their mobile phones to vote for each game’s three stars, at a cost of $0.75 to the fan. Sound like a dubious cash grab? Well, it is, and the Ceeb concedes that viewer participation has been low. But at least the network is out there trying to maximize the valuable NHL brand and experiment in the digital arena.

A big part of the reason CBC fought so hard to retain NHL rights was its foresight regarding the digital future. The network understands that mobile could be on the verge of exploding in the coming years, and it also realizes that what makes the most compelling mobile content is that which transpires in real-time: sports, news, weather, traffic, etc. And with its CBC News brand, and now, the NHL and FIFA, the pubcaster is well positioned in the digital realm going forward.

But outside of these areas, the Ceeb is merely eyeing some contest promos with text messaging features for some of its fall shows. That really adds up to a toe in the pool at this point, and the net says that there’s little else, due in part to the challenges with the CTF and indie producers.

To find funders, broadcasters and producers at cross-purposes is an old story in the Canadian television world, and new technologies have added carriers to the mix. There are many issues needing resolution in this largely foreign space, but all sides have expressed a willingness to come together and work at doing so. Hopefully, as they converge at the 2007 Mobile Forum on May 17, they will take some positive steps in this direction.