Broadcasters make mobile TV moves

Could broadcasters hold the key to success in mobile TV? Last week at the National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas, the Open Mobile Video Coalition initiated a push to get broadcast TV on cell phones, portable media players, in-car TVs and more.

The OMVC, which consists of broadcasters from more than 850 television stations nationwide, said that they were already testing various mobile TV standards. Once a standard is selected, the organization envisions the technology being deployed in various consumer electronics products and in-vehicle systems.

Unlike the current broadcast mobile TV model in which wireless carriers use Qualcomm's MediaFLO network and charge a monthly subscription fee for the service, the OMVC envisions this alternative broadcast TV service will be entirely ad-supported. The broadcasters would control the content and bring in the additional ad revenue with minimal infrastructure costs. The OMVC estimates that broadcasters would only have to pay about $100,000 to upgrade their existing broadcast tower.

Of course, key to this scenario is getting the broadcast TV chipsets and antennas incorporated in all the end-user devices, including cellphones. Since U.S. wireless carriers still dictate much of the inner workings of the cellphone, I think the broadcasters may initially have some difficulty getting their TV technology inside a cell phone, unless, of course, they are willing to offer some sort of incentive--an advertising revenue share, perhaps?

Is this a more viable model than the current mobile TV subscription strategy? I think that advertising-supported mobile TV is the only way to grow the base beyond the early adopters. So far, mobile carriers seem to be sticking with the subscription model until they can get their base big enough to appeal to advertisers. Broadcasters, meanwhile, would be able to leverage their existing advertisers to build this business.

Whether or not this model makes more sense, it's clear that wireless carriers need to get a handle on the broadcast TV model. Otherwise, they may soon be facing some serious competition in the form of the OMVC. -Sue 

P.S. Check out contributor Andy Seybold's latest column about building mobile broadband usage below.