Mobile TV Set to Be Very Popular

Results from pilots on broadcast (DVB-H) mobile TV services amongst consumers in Finland, the UK, Spain and France have revealed clear consumer demand for such services as well as important indications over future business models for commercial mobile TV services. Each of the pilots involved Nokia and a broad spectrum of companies, including broadcasters, mobile operators and broadcast network providers, revealing the widespread interest in making mobile TV a reality. Each pilot also involved broadcasts of live digital TV content over DVB-H networks to the Nokia 7710 smartphone.

Consumer demand for mobile TV

Interim results from the pilot in Oxford, UK, revealed that 83% of participants were satisfied with the service and over three quarters (76%) said they would take up the service within 12 months. In France, 68% said they would pay for mobile TV services while over half (55%) in Spain were willing to do so. Nearly 75% of Spanish participants would recommend the service to friends and family.

Pricing Models

The potential commercial benefits of mobile TV for the industry are made clear by these pilots with such a high proportion willing to pay for the service. The most popular pricing model to emerge is a monthly subscription for a package of channels. In the Helsinki pilot, half of those that took part thought

Posted to the site on 9th March 2006