The recent demise of Qualcomm’s FLO TV experiment and the less than stellar enthusiasm for other mobile TV services continues to plague Mobile DTV’s vocal supporters and has generated fundamental questions about the offering and its future.

Recently, I re-tweeted an article on the challenges Flipboard is facing with respect to potential publisher copyright infringement (see “Flipboard CEO’s claim: We’re not building a business “on the backs of publishers”). In my re-tweet I made the comment “Not Good!” which obviously irked Mike McCue as he responded with a “Not True” comment on my re-tweet.

Over the past four months or so, two companies have literally become household names in the broadcast television industry. While most companies achieve this level of notoriety through the development of a disruptive technology or new consumer craze, both ivi and FilmOn have achieved it through an obvious disregard of US copyright, re-transmission consent and a host of other laws or rulings designed to protect both content owners and consumers.

Love them or hate them, use them or don’t, applications have taken the mobile industry by storm and demonstrate that mobile communication is more than just telephony and email. Apps are a critical part of a vast eco-system that bring us together and connect us with information, products and services in ways that are engaging, informative and entertaining.

I recently discovered a company down in the Bay Area called Zoove (www.zoove.com). Well, saying I discovered them is a stretch as they’ve been around for a number of years quietly building a compelling direct response mobile marketing service.

I believe in the power of iTV (in all of its forms) and the promise it holds for consumers, programmers and carriers alike. I was an early pioneer in this space, having co-founded Broadstream Communications, Inc. Also, I’m not here to pick on Google specifically, but rather what continues to play out in the iTV space.

Let’s face it, the term “video snacking” describes the quick and consistent consumption of video, and how millions of people have historically chosen to view content online.

Ever stare in wonder when you see a strong platform or solid business that fails to read the signs on the wall? Rather than recognize and adapt, they at best pay lip service to the issue and simply shoehorn in yesterday’s business models into today’s evolving marketplace. These thoughts and others always cross my mind when I think of the newspaper industry.

Call it what you want – content delivery, video aggregation, audience segmentation, brand networks, blah, blah, blah. Tons of people have given it a go, but ask any of them about what they do and if it’s working, and only a handful are able to give you a clearly defined answer.

There’s never been any question in my mind that content is King. However, a King’s influence and impact extends only as far as his domain allows. Trumpeted loudly yet kept within a narrow space, content may have wide awareness and desirability but it has little impact if consumers cannot or will not access it. Conversely, wide in reach but marginal in value and the content lacks impact and consumers will engage only for brief periods.

Advertisers should continue to experiment with new approaches to deliver targeted messages to more specific audiences. Understand where your target audience is going to find video content. If approached correctly, the right messaging at the right time could increase both your brand affinity and the ROI of your ad buy.

Here at 1cast, we’re very committed to bringing the best of television news from around the world to your desktop, mobile or any other device. And yesterday we delivered a breakthrough that goes far beyond technology. We are the first to bring Al Jazeera to the US.

I applaud content owners who have the courage to stand up and say the rules matter and we’re going to enforce them. It’s time the media and more of the Internet public did the same.

The film Stand and Deliver is about an inner-city math teacher who decides to change an educational system that is blind to the needs of its students. This true story is a great example of overcoming challenges to deliver on a promise. In this case, the promise of a valid education to kids, regardless of geography or socio-economic status.

While I’m a fan of Ayn Rand’s objectivist philosophy, borrowing the title of one of her books as the theme for this blog is in many ways an anathema to modern day political correctness. And yet, when it comes to media consumption, specifically online video, we’re all guilty of a bit of selfishness. We want media delivered on our terms, to our devices and at times that are convenient for us.