The mobile video space is getting another boost this morning as MSNBC.com and the Weather Channel are announcing new mobile video initiatives, both with Transpera (which I previously wrote about here). Both weather and news/politics are in the top 5 mobile Internet web site categories according to Nielsen. The Weather Channel is the number one mobile content site and MSNBC has been the leader in Current Events and Global News for six months. All that suggests that video should be heavily consumed on both mobile sites.

Weather is offering video forecasts for the top 100 cities, along with national forecasts, top stories, weekend outlooks, severe weather reports and travel-specific conditions. Meanwhile, MSNBC intends to deliver the same kinds of video on mobile that it's been offering online for some time now, including NBC News video like segments from news shows "Today," "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," and "Meet the Press."

The Weather and MSNBC initiatives are the kinds of things that make a lot of sense to me (and cause me to be confident about my '09 prediction that mobile video is going to be big this year). Both sites have been deep into video for some time now, and as users develop a set of online expectations, it's only natural that they'll transfer these to their mobile experiences as well.

Soon enough, high-quality video on mobile devices will become table stakes. Transpera is gaining a lot of momentum by helping content providers quickly deploy their video to mobile users. Their emphasis on advertising, including selling inventory as part of their network, has been a key to their success. The mobile video space is one to watch in '09.

What do you think? Post a comment now.