Washington, D.C. will be 1st to get free mobile TV

Washington will be the first U.S. city to get free digital TV broadcasts for mobile devices like cell phones, laptop computers and in-car entertainment systems, broadcasters were set to announce Monday, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

Broadcasts using new "mobile DTV" technology are expected to begin in late summer from five stations: local affiliates of CBS, NBC, PBS and Ion and one independent station owned by Fox.

The initial broadcasts will be identical to those beamed to TV sets, including the advertising.

BBC launches 24-hour live TV streaming mobile service

The BBC has debuted its 24-hour live television streaming website for mobile devices. The service currently has eight channels, including five general news streams, one BBC Parliament stream, and CBBC and CBeebies children's programming.

The service will not work over-the-air, and it is only available for U.K. residents. Users can see the streaming video service by visiting BBC Mobile.

[via MobileBurn]

South Koreans want their sub-TV

In South Korea, subway riders are becoming addicted to free TV on their cellphones. But declining ad revenue and mounting debt may force cellular operators to pull the plug. The LA Times reports.

Reeling from declining ad revenue and mounting debt from providing the expensive service at no additional cost to subscribers, South Korean cellular operators may soon cancel subway TV coverage that has yet to turn a profit.

Losing underground TV reception may not seem like much to consumers in the U.S., where many are still struggling with cellular dead zones and where a switch to full above-ground digital TV service may leave millions staring at useless analog sets.

But for many South Koreans, subway TV has become a familiar part of their daily routines. Phone companies in this digitally crazed nation in 2005 were the first to launch mobile TV that could be tuned in on phones just about anywhere -- even in the subway tunnels deep beneath Seoul and other cities.

Today, nearly 10 million cellular users are watching soap operas, sports and sitcoms on a special frequency dedicated to portable viewing -- enjoying it all on larger digital-quality screens and high-tech handsets to improve reception.

In Seoul, for example, companies offer eight video and 10 audio channels on new cellphones. There's also a subscription-based satellite service, but few consumers have shelled out for it.

But the proposed changes by cellphone service providers would leave users with only static in the subway, and no TV signal until they hit street level again.

PacketVideo - TV on your iPhone

At Barcelona's Mobile World Congress, PacketVideo demonstrated its mobile broadcast receiver that turns Wi-Fi-enabled phones and personal media players into mobile TVs. iPhone World reports.

The way it works is PacketVideo receiver decodes digital TV signal, and then sends it wirelessly which then is caught and play backed by the device, like iPhone. The mobile broadcast receiver is compatible with many industry-leading phones, iPhone including.

The receiver also allows viewing premium channels, as well as ensures optimum rendering of the TV signal on the playback device.

[via NewTeeVee]

Trial has TV shows broadcast to mobile phones

A mobile TV trial in Sydney is broadcasting nine channels to participants' mobile phones, including Channel 7, ABC, Fox Sports and MTV, in a service that could be widely available by the end of the year.

Mobile TV broadcasts similar to traditional radio and television signals and can be picked up by a receiver inside a mobile, avoiding the expensive practice of downloading video clips to a handset.

[via Courier Mail]

Watch The Obama Inauguration From Your iPhone With Ustream

UStream Ustream has developed an application for the 3G iphone that allows you to watch Ustream anywhere with everyone.

Regardless of where you are at and what you are doing, you can choose to be in the moment with others in a shared live experience around a live event. If you are out-on-the-town and know that a guest speaker at a major conference is “going live” and want to watch live and be-in-the-crowd, then you can with this application.

You will be able to watch the Inauguration LIVE on Ustream with chat.

[UStream Blog via TechCrunch]

New Interactive CBS Murder Mystery Debuts this Spring

Ashton Kutcher's Game Show, Harper's Island, a murder mystery set to air this spring, isn’t just coming to TV. The 13-episode series is being presented as a multi-platform interactive program with portions of the show being aired online and on mobile devices. Broadcasting & Cable reports.

CBS partnered with social entertainment company EQAL, creators of YouTube hits lonelygirl15 and KateModern, to produce a collaborative show in which overlapping characters and plots will evolve online and on mobile devices throughout the season. The show debuts April 9 at 10 p.m. but the online interactive social show starts weeks earlier on March 18.

Showtime gives 'Tara' big online launch

U.S. pay cable network Showtime says it will make the first episode of its new show "The United States of Tara" freely available on hundreds of Internet sites, reports UPI.

In what it calls "one of the largest content distribution campaigns ever done to launch a new original series," CBS-owned Showtime Networks Inc. said Monday it will make "Tara" available for free streaming on more than 100 Web sites, including TV.com, Yahoo, YouTube, MSN, Fancast, Veoh, EW.com, Blockbuster.com, CinemaNow, TVGuide.com and Netflix.

Mobile phone users will also be able to watch "Tara" on Verizon's V-Cast Mobile TV and on AT&T Mobile TV via MediaFLO.

Babelgum’s Web TV Goes Mobile on 3G (in the UK)

Web TV service Babelgum launched a six-month trial of its mobile services today in conjunction with Vodafone UK. NewTeeVee reports.

Babelgum Mobile is available immediately and will work on Nokia N96, N95 and 6210 handsets. Babelgum Mobile also works on the iPhone, but that service is through O2, not Vodaphone.

Unlike Joost’s recent mobile video app, which only works through Wi-Fi, Babelgum’s service will work over 3G networks.

For now, it looks like Joost offers a broader range of content; Babelgum is pushing mostly music videos and BBC comedies. According to the Babelgum press announcement, the company will be rolling out its mobile service in new countries (including the U.S.) in the coming months, and it plans to tailor the content for each market.

Broadcasts to mobile devices to start in 22 cities

TV stations in 22 U.S. cities announced Thursday that they will start broadcasting their signals this year in a format designed to be received by mobile devices like cell phones, MP3 players, GPS units and in-car entertainment systems. [via Cellular News]

Unlike current mobile TV services, the broadcasts would most likely be free, and would provide access to local news, weather and traffic updates. The broadcasts could also fill an important role in emergencies like hurricanes, since they can be received by portable devices and don't jam up under load like cell-phone networks.

But will there be any gadgets on the market that can receive those signals? That's less clear, since there are no firm launch dates for compatible products.

Read full article.

Coming soon to cellphones: Free, over-the-air TV

Millions of consumers by year's end should be able to watch free, over-the-air television on cellphones, PDAs and other portable digital devices as the result of initiatives that will be unveiled Thursday by some of the nation's largest TV station owners and electronics manufacturers. USA Today reports.

... At least 63 stations in 22 cities — including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston and Washington — will transmit news, entertainment and sports to portable devices this year, according to the broadcast industry's Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC).

The initial group will include affiliates of ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW, ION and PBS. Each city will have a different mix. Most will simulcast regularly scheduled shows.

In conjunction with the announcement, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, manufacturers including LG, Samsung, Zenith and Kenwood will display mobile receivers due in stores later this year.

EC unveils mobile TV guidelines

The European Commission has published a set of mobile TV guidelines that hopefully will accelerate the roll out of mobile TV service across Europe.

The EC said it had identified the main principles which EU regulators and governments should follow when authorising operators to provide mobile TV services, including that frequencies made available for mobile TV should be withdrawn if the service has not started within a reasonable period of time. Regulators should keep the authorisation process open to all industry players and create conditions which encourage cooperation between telecoms operators and broadcasters. Also, DVB-H based mobile TV services in every EU country should work together.

[Mobile News via FierceMobile]

Babelgum launches free video to mobile

Free video to mobile phones became reality on Wednesday in cell phone-crazy Italy, where Vodafone users with certain late-generation smart phones can now watch video content from Internet TV operator Babelgum, free of data charges. Cellular >News reports.

The Italian launch will be followed by the rollout in Britain on Thursday, with other countries, including the United States, to follow, Babelgum said.

The Babelgum-Vodafone alliance will offer Babelgum's content free with no additional data charges to Vodafone clients with an iPhone 3G, Nokia N95 or 6210, and will eventually be supported by advertising.

Watching Videos on Mobile Phones on the Rise

Technology rules our lives and we sure have become couch potatoes - proves the latest report from Nielsen Company. The 'A2/M2 Three Screen Report' states that the usage of TV, Internet and Mobile - the Three Screens - continues to increase in the US.

According to the report, an average person in the US watched approximately 142 hours of TV in one month and mobile phone users spent 3 hours a month watching mobile video. People who used the internet were online 27 hours a month. A record high was set by the couch potatoes, average time a US home used their TV set during 2007-08 was up to 8 hours and 18 minutes per day.

... Men are more likely than women to watch video on mobile phones, while women are more likely then men to watch video on the Internet.

“Our numbers show that TV remains the dominant choice for most Americans, yet timeshifting as well as videos on the Internet and on mobile phones, continue to be the trends to watch.”

[via TechTree]

Orange Unveils HD Mobile TV

Orange has announced plans to launch high definition mobile TV through a new and exclusive handset from LG, the LG Secret KF757, giving customers in France access to more than sixty high definition mobile TV channels (including twenty with unlimited access).

[via Unstrung]

Research finds mobile TV as unseductive as ever, though VOD seems interesting

Recent reserach has found that mobile TV adoption sits at just 1% now, and interest in all types of mobile TV is just over 50% of what it was in 2006. engadget:mobile reports.

The report places the blame on "patchy network coverage, limited channel lineup, poor video quality, excessive prices and a penchant among high-end phone users for business handsets rather than video phones."

15% of those surveyed on the topic would actually enjoy watching recorded TV shows later on their phone.

Presidential debates on mobile

CBS News will be airing the presidential debates on its MediaFlo channel and carrier decks tonight. Networks are increasingly looking to MediaFLO and carriers' streaming TV services to get first-time viewers.

[via mocoNews.net]

MobiTV to Carry ABC Content

Mobile-video service MobiTV reached a deal with Disney-ABC Television Group to deliver on-demand episodes of popular ABC primetime shows such as Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty to mobile-phone users.

MobiTV -- which has more than 4 million users globally and markets its subscription services in the United States through Sprint Nextel and AT&T Wireless -- will now carry the ABC Mobile on-demand channel and offer full-length episodes of popular ABC shows the day after their broadcast air.

[via Broadcasting Cable]

BBC iPlayer comes to Nokia

Nokia and BBC have announced a partnership deal that will allow users to watch the iPlayer on the Finns' mobile phones. Techradar reports.

"From 1 October this year Nokia N96 owners will be able to watch all the programming over 3G or Wi-Fi.

... The iPlayer will be available via an application downloaded to the phone, though will come pre-loaded on most N96s."

CW's Shows Go Mobile

The CW offering includes full episodes and short clips of all its series. AdWeek reports.

"CW TV offering includes full episodes and short clips of all its shows, including America's Next Top Model and Gossip Girl. Episodes run between two to five minutes

The only exception is Smallville, due to a contractual syndication agreement that precludes the network from incorporating it into the lineup."

Fox offers TV downloads through iTunes

Twentieth Century Fox has started adding a selection of television shows to iTunes, which are available to download as of today.

Jamie McCabe, Twentieth Century Fox EVP, Worldwide PPV, VOD and EST, said about the new deal: "Fox TV shows have been incredibly popular on the iTunes Store in the US.
We're excited today to bring these hit shows to fans in the UK via iTunes and look forward to adding more great programming soon."

Currently customers have the chance to download seasons one and six of 24, and the first three series of My Name Is Earl and Bones."

Users of the UK store will now be able to purchase or rent their favourite Fox shows; with the list so far including the likes of 24, My Name Is Earl and Bones.

[via techradar]

$62,000 Cell Phone Bill: Data charges for downloading Prison Break abroad

A Manchester- based IT consultant returned from a holiday in Portugal to a hefty £31,500 ($62,000) telephone bill. Digital Lifestyles reports.

"Iayn Dobsyn downloaded an episode of Prison Break and a load of MP3s by using his mobile phone as a modem.

Sadly, for Mr Dobsyn, he’d failed to check the limits set on his data plan, and he joined the long queue of punters who have been hit with Everest-sized bills when using data abroad.

Earlier this year, a Vodafone customer was slapped down to the tune of £27,000 ($3,000), after he’d downloaded a load of television shows via his mobile data package in the mistaken belief that he was on an unlimited data plan."

Sports Fans Twice As Likely to Watch Videos on Mobile Phones

According to the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) data, TV and internet now far outstrip other media at sports fans' peak viewing times and twice as many sports fans watch video via mobile compared with the average mobile user (12% vs. 6%).

[via Celluar News]

AT&T Mobile TV Launched in 58 U.S. Markets

AT&T, which is about a year behind Verizon Wireless in the Mobile TV market, has announced that subscribers in 58 areas around the U.S. can sign up for the company’s new mobile TV service.

[via MobileCrunch]

DoCoMo Phone lets you watch TV underwater

That title from I4U certainly caught my attention. And the photo above does indeed show the phone immersed in water.

"Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo unveiled 19 new mobile phones in the 706i and 906i series. One of which, in the 706i line includes the new F706i water-proof 1Seg digital TV mobile phone. "

Shared Solitary Serial Experiences

Two Tokyoites - on the right of the photo engaged in the same task watching the same television program on their mobile phone each using their own device, with comments passed back and forth. Shared experiences, yet personal device ownership gently separating the experience compared to current norms.

A fabulous picture from everyone's favourite Jan Chipchase.

TV at 140 Miles Per Hour

Digital sub-channels have not exactly been raving successes, writes Bits Blog.

"So the broadcasters would love to find something else to do with their additional spectrum. One solution may soon appear next year in the form of mobile television technology, a system that will allow you to watch digital TV while you’re on the move, using a PDA, cell phone, or your laptop. As you cruise down the freeway, the signal will never disappear.

The idea is that broadcasters can transmit local programming to mobile devices, so when you’re driving on the Long Island Expressway, for instance, you can pick up the latest sports scores, or learn all about the cat that got stuck in the tree in Bensonhurst. And broadcasters can make additional revenue by selling ads."

Samsung joins forces with LG, Harris on mobile TV

Samsung Electronics is combining efforts with fellow Korean electronics maker LG Electronics to develop a new standard for mobile TV broadcasts, the companies announced Wednesday.

Their technology will be competing with two others to become the standard for mobile TV, a decision that rests with the TV industry's technical standards-setting body for digital broadcasts.

[via Reuters]

NBC Streaming Full Episodes of 30 Rock and the Office to iPhones

NBC is streaming full episodes of 30 Rock and The Office to iPhones (and touches) in Quicktime, for free, with no ads.

[via Gizmodo]

Mobile TV Spreading in Europe and to the U.S.

Every day in Switzerland, 40,000 people watch a 100-second television news broadcast on their cellphones. In Italy, a million people pay as much as 19 euros each ($29) a month to watch up to a dozen mobile TV channels. The New York Times reports.

"... Japan is the leader in direct mobile television, with 20 million cellphones equipped with TV receivers, followed by South Korea with 8.2 million, according to In-Stat, a research and consulting firm in Scottsdale, Ariz.

In-Stat estimated that there were 29.7 million mobile TV viewers worldwide at the end of 2007. That is expected to almost double, to 56.9 million, at the end of 2008, driven by growth in Japan.

Italy has been an early leader in Europe, with service beginning in 2006. The largest mobile TV broadcaster on the Continent is 3 Italia, a cellular operator owned by Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong, with 800,000 customers, about 10 percent of its total phone clients. The million Italian viewers watch up to a dozen channels."

AT&T launches TV service on new phones, rivaling Verizon

AT&T Inc. is launching its new video service for cell phones Sunday on two phones, and will charge $15 per month for 10 channels. AT&T will have two exclusive channels on the service, it said Thursday. The Associated Press reports.

"AT&T already has a mobile video service called CV, which is based on different technology. It works like Internet video, providing short clips on demand.

This new service is more like regular TV broadcasts, constantly streaming shows on airwaves that run alongside regular cell-phone spectrum. Judging by V Cast Mobile TV, which is available on four phones, the quality is much higher than on-demand cell-phone clips.

... The only AT&T handsets that will initially work with the service are the ones that are going on sale Sunday: the LG Vu, a touch screen phone and the Samsung Access."

Apple iTunes to compete "day-and-date" with DVD releases

Apple is expected to announce today an across-the-board deal to sell new release films at its iTunes Store. The deal is said to allow Apple to offer a "broad slate of top-shelf films" day-and-date with home video releases.

"... The deal includes Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, New Line and more -- all of which are currently inked to deliver rentals through iTunes. MGM is not part of the deal.

[via engadget]

Full-length shows, even movies, growing on cellular

Forget short clips and "mobisodes." Cellphone providers are ramping up their full-episode TV offerings, from "Lost" to "The Office", and even movies. USA Today reports.

"Today, only about 7% of mobile subscribers (cell and data) watch video on their phones, he says. But the industry is poised for major growth: Mobile video revenues at domestic carriers jumped to $308 million in the last three months of 2007 from $112 million in the same period a year earlier, according to Nielsen Mobile.

... Mobile users are willing to watch for extended periods, says Nielsen Mobile's Nic Covey. Nearly half (47%) say their average session lasts 15 minutes or longer; 25% watch 30 minutes or more.

Says Covey: "Enough consumers watch mobile video for those lengths of time and enough consumers are interested in name-brand programming that this level of mobile viewing could be just as big an opportunity as clips."

Local TV Station Owners Push Mobile TV

According to the AP, owners of more than 800 local TV stations where ad revenue has plunged recently said they've formed a group that's testing three standards for s ending local digital TV signals to cell phones, laptops and other mobile devices.

"The Open Mobile Video Coalition said at the National Association of Broadcasters meeting in Las Vegas that it will push for an open standard by next year that would allow members to bypass cell phone companies and tap into what they think will be a $2 billion market for mobile advertising.

The station owners say transmitting directly to mobile devices would give them a third means of delivering local programming - and capturing revenue - along with broadcasting to TVs and streaming it on station-owned Web sites."

New Satellite Will Supply TV To Cell Phones

A satellite that could affect cell phone service headed for space Monday afternoon, reports Orlando's Wesh 2.

The satellite is designed to provide 10 to 15 live television stations for mobile phones in the future. It is powerful enough to not require a dish to receive broadcast.

It's first-of-its kind technology. It cost an estimated $500 million to build, launch and test the TV satellite."

Web firm to offer TV streaming to iPhone

According to The Guardian, two leading UK broadcasters are exploring a service that would allow live streaming of their programmes to Apple's iPhone.

"London-based web TV technology specialist Best Before has developed server-based technology called Millicent that allows a broadcaster or other content producer to provide an edited video feed to be watched on the iPhone without needing to hack into the handset.

iPhone users would be able to view live TV on their handset through Safari, the Apple device's web browser, using a local wireless network. The iPhone's data connection through the Edge network would also work but would be less reliable."

Fox Business Channel debuts on MobiTV

Mobile entertainment services provider MobiTV announced a content licensing deal to offer Fox Business Network as a live, linear channel identical in programming scope to the version broadcast on cable and satellite.

Fox Business on MobiTV features live, full-length linear programming including Fox Business, Money for Breakfast, The Opening Bell, Happy Hour, Cavuto and America's Nightly Scoreboard.

[via FierceMobile Content. More in press release]

'Sopranos' on Canadian cell phones

Bell Canada on Tuesday began delivering full episodes of "The Sopranos" to its mobile phone subscribers as part of an agreement with HBO.

The Canadian phone giant's customers can also now watch on-demand episodes of "Entourage," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Tell Me You Love Me" and "Sex and the City" as well as stand-up comedy shows for CAN$10 ($9.75) a month plus browser usage fees.

The product is initially available in English-speaking Canada, with a dubbed French-language version set for launch in May.

[via Reuters/Hollywood Reporter]

1.2 Million Mobile TV Users In France

There is now 1.2 million mobile TV users in France—Orange has 1 million and SFR has 200,000, according to ScreenDigest.

Both these servicese are over the 3G network, and ScreenDigest reckons that by the end of the year France will overtake Italy as the biggest mobile TV market in Europe

[via MocoNews]

Free TV shows may air on cellphones

Local US broadcasters are quietly planning to beam the stations to cellphones, video iPods, in-car DVD players and other gadgets that would be equipped with TV tuners. The high-quality digital broadcasts likely would start after the transition to digital TV ends in 2009. USA Today reports.

Sprint Launches Original TV Programming for Phones

Sprint jas just launched SEE (Sprint Exclusive Entertainment), its own network of original TV programming, at no extra charge to customers.

"SEE's brief on-demand programs average approximately two minutes in length and focus on three major areas - sports, music and entertainment news. The programs are shot at various on-site locations and at a brand-new studio managed by production partner Intersport. SEE delivers more than 150 programs each week that are hosted by well-known personalities. "

[via Mobiledia]

P.&G.'s Web Installment

The company that brought soap operas to radio, then television, Procter & Gamble, is trying the same strategy online with “Crescent Heights,” a new show intended to reach young viewers where they watch the most — their PCs and cellphones. The New York Times reports.

"The series, which is more sitcom than soap, focuses on a recent college graduate, Ashley, who moves to Los Angeles from Wisconsin to start a career in public relations, and her emerging circle of friends and romantic interests. Written, directed and produced by Hollywood veterans, the three-minute episodes are as polished as any television sitcom.

“Crescent Heights,” which Tide is promoting on its television commercials, print ads and packaging, is too new to affect sales. “The reaction so far has been great,” Mr. Crociata said. “We feel like we’ve hit on something that’s entertaining and, in our testing, has shown it’s influencing purchase intent.”

Mr. Crociata said the series, which was taped in an initial set of 10 segments, will help Procter & Gamble evaluate its broader strategy regarding online entertainment. At least one other Procter & Gamble brand, Always feminine care products, has rolled out a scripted online entertainment series."

TV on Cellphone Screens? No thanks, say Europeans

Europeans' interest in watching mobile television is as tiny as cellphone screens, a new study showed on Monday, even though the industry has been buzzing about offering TV on handsets for years. [Reuters reports]

"Only about 5 percent of Europeans expressed interest in watching television or video on their cellphones in the next 12 months, the Gartner study said. At the same time some 20 percent of Asians said they would watch TV on their phone screens."

Telecom steps into sports TV

France Telecom has taken its first tentative steps into broadcasting with the launch of IPTV service Orange Sports TV.

The channel will feature sports news, broadcast via the Internet and direct to Orange mobile 3G network subscribers.

[via Variety]

Software lets users watch movies from PCs or TV on mobile phones

Digital technology company DigitAll World together with SK Telecom announced on Monday that it is developing a software application that lets users watch movies from their home computers or TVs on their mobile phones. Digital Chosunilbo reports.

"Called Orb, the application streams media such as videos saved on home computers or broadcast on TV over the wireless Internet to mobile devices."