Monty Munford Leaving Player X

Our old friend Paul "Monty" Munford resurrected his dormant (and sorely missed) Gaming and Wireless Outlook newsletter to announce, in inimitable style, that he's leaving his longtime employer Player X. The London content publisher and aggregator was acquired by The Borg... oops, I mean Zed, back in May. Monty is one of the reasons that I once characterized Player X as "the new cool kid on the block of mobile publishing" and he'll be indelibly associated in my mind with an exuberant (sometimes irrationally so) era of mobile entertainment. I greatly anticipate hearing more about his future endeavors... some of which are teased below.

Monty's Gaming and Wireless Outlook - Leaving Player X After four years, three months and 21 days, Player X and I have severed our ties and are going in separate directions, both richer and wiser for the experience; so where better to announce this than in the newsletter that defined me. Some marriages don't last that long and it was only as I stripped out my emails did I remember how hard we all worked to get Player X out there. We did a good job, I reckon. From start-up to a multi-million sterling sale wasn't bad at all. I'd like to thank Tony Pearce and Ari Honka for giving me a job at Player X when others were unsure of employing a maverick and I'd also like to thank innumerable people over their years for their help when I was new to the business. You know who you are. As for the occasional twat, you too know who you are. Fortunately there weren't many of them. Most of you know that I relocated to India 13 months ago and have been writing for UK broadsheets including The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph and this weekend I have my first piece in the Financial Times. I have also published more than 50 issues of my Indian newsletter, Monty's Indian Outlook. But writing today for a living is impossible, so while I like to keep my eye in, I have been concentrating more as a fulcrum between UK and Indian companies; a vocation that is working very well... although Hindi isn't easy and driving here is even worse. I'm also heavily involved with a project that is OFF-THE-RECORD but means working personally with one of Hollywood's most successful film directors on taking the portfolio of his films to mobile. Unbelievably exciting but you'll hear more about that later I'm sure. I am also off on location this month as a speaking 1930s British officer in a Bollywood movie being filmed by an Oscar-nominated Director in Goa about the 1930s Chittagong uprising (long story). Very David Brent, but life continues to be interesting, and that's how it should always be. For those who'd like to keep in touch my email is montysmobile@gmail.com or I'm active at www.twitter.com/montymunford. Thanks for listening and see you from time to time... I thought I'd give Nokia one last plug for all their previous love. Cheers Kamar. Monty

Player X, Why Zed?...$15mil is the Answer

Mobile Entertainment is reporting this morning that the giant of all mobile entertainment companies Zed ($545mil 2007 Revs...self reported) is purchasing London-based publisher, distributor and on-carrier hosted portal provider Player X for £10mil ($15mil). Soon after Player X (backed by Arts Alliance & Nordic Venture Partners) emerged back in 2004 I called them "the new cool kid on the block," and they have been able to stay cool/relevant by (as you must do in this space) evolving their business model over time. They initially focused on games, but as that space became more commoditized and the carriers aggressively searched for video services to show-off their 3G networks, they created a groundbreaking made-for-mobile video channel offering called GeekTV or ZapperTV (depending on the market). Later they leveraged excellent distribution relationships with European operators to create a 3rd party distribution business and a hosted games portal called 100% Mobile on O2 & Telefonica. There is no word on how Player X will exist going forward within the growing universe of Zed...whose previously acquisitions include Monstermob, 9Squared, Mobitween, etc...but consensus is (and I agree) the Player X team will play a key role in Zed's continuing diversification away from D2C personalization.

Telefónica Gets Emociónal With Player X

According a press release today, leading Spanish operator Telefónica Móviles (TEF) has become the 2nd European operator (after O2 UK) to deploy Player X Distribution's "100% Mobile" games store within a store product. The portal gives Telefónica's subscribers an additional mobile games retail venue in the existing "emoción" content channel. 100% Mobile features innovative community features, enhanced promotional opportunities, subscription options and "try before you buy" functionality. Player X CEO Tony Pearce said, "we are confident the new site will significantly drive consumption and ARPU as we have successfully done so with O2 UK.” If this proves out and Telefónica decides to expand the offering across its vast network of operators in Europe and LatAm, this could be a substantial opportunity for London-based Player X.