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Since 2008's Almost Over, Now Looking To 2009 As The Year Of Mobile TV
from the its-that-time-again dept
Each of the last, oh, 4 or 5 years has been heralded as "the year of mobile TV," despite plenty of questions over the real demand for a paid recreation of old-school broadcast television, a medium that's falling out of favor as people look to DVRs and on-demand services. It's already looking like 2009 won't be any different, as Qualcomm is talking up the expansion plans for its MediaFLO network, saying it will be available in an additional 46 markets by the end of next year. The implication is that by having 108 active markets instead of 62, it's primed to take off. But if the people in those 46 extra markets have roughly the same demand for the service as those in the existing markets, it's hard to see a huge bump in growth. Indeed, as the original story notes, "MediaFLO hasn't taken off as quickly as [Qualcomm] had hoped, and it's unclear how many users the service has through its partnerships with Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
It adds, however, that among its user base, live events like the US Open golf tournament cause big spike in viewer numbers (again, though, that's viewers -- not subscribers). This is one area where mobile TV could hold some promise, as live events like sports or breaking news still call for a traditional broadcast model. But the subscription-based model remains a big barrier, particularly as consumers look to reign in their spending. There are lots of mobile services billed as being "just $5 or $10 a month," but given tighter household purse strings, that "just $5" is going to hold back the growth of many of them.
It adds, however, that among its user base, live events like the US Open golf tournament cause big spike in viewer numbers (again, though, that's viewers -- not subscribers). This is one area where mobile TV could hold some promise, as live events like sports or breaking news still call for a traditional broadcast model. But the subscription-based model remains a big barrier, particularly as consumers look to reign in their spending. There are lots of mobile services billed as being "just $5 or $10 a month," but given tighter household purse strings, that "just $5" is going to hold back the growth of many of them.
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Reader Comments (rss)
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Mobile TV's already dead
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Mobile TV is alive
Now if you mean streaming, that's another story, nobody wants to pay $XX dollars a month to watch half a TV show on their mobile while waiting for a bus.
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Video, Yes. TV, no,.
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Video, Yes. TV, no.
But the concept of mobile video, that is people watching moving pictures on their phones, is one that is only going to grow and grow. I have no doubt that in a few years, masses of people will be watching video content on their phones. The thing is, it will not be the "billed content" that the carriers and Qualcomm are hoping to sell. It will be video sideloaded (legal or pirate) to the device, or video streamed from their PVR (or cloud PVR), or some form of free online video like Youtube.
That's a lot of video, and it will contribute to rising unlimited data plan sales for carriers. They should be happy with that.
BTW, to comment #1, I use my WinMo "brick" to watch video a fair bit. It's Youtube content, which is short-form and often fits into a conversation, and it's off of my Tivo through Slingbox. The Tivo content is stuff I would watch anyway, so I watch it while I'm waiting at the dentist office, then pause, then I pick it up where I left off on my home TV. Very personal, very efficient, basically free.
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Now if they paired it with the ability to watch it on your notebook PC on the go, then maybe it'll work.
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doesn't work in the US
in the US it's illegal to even think about touching a mobile phone when you are in a car, so mobile TV in the US is DOA.
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Re:
i hope you were a safe distance from the car while operating your mobile vehicular homicide device.
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