ABSTRACT
The mobile phone is not necessarily the first technology one would think of as a television platform. It is a tool for communication, not entertainment; it is a box in your pocket, not your living room. Despite these apparent differences, a range of televisual content, from news and sports to drama and comedy, became available on a mobile phone during the period of this research. This content straddles the boundary between transmedia storytelling and transmedia engagement. Predominantly short, downloadable clips, some, such as the Tardisodes, were expansions of existing television content and so functioned as transmedia storytelling; others were short preview clips for programmes such as The X Factor and so served as transmedia marketing. Simultaneously, more straightforward examples of transmedia engagement via mobile phones emerged as all of the major phone operators, including Vodafone, Orange, Virgin and 3 began offering streamed mobile television services. These streamed services contained content that had previously been broadcast, offering audiences the choice of watching television at home, or on the go. However, unlike gaming texts and online downloading, broader take up of mobile television has been slow, especially in Europe (see Forrester, 2008, 2009). This dismissal of mobile television was apparent in focus groups, and examining the reasons for this rejection highlights a number of issues surrounding this convergent move and indicates the importance of both technology and content in audience attitudes towards transmediality.
