Oi Brazil Plans Mobile TV Launch, IPTV Later

The mobile unit of Brazilian telecoms group Oi plans to launch mobile TV services on November 19, to kick off a series of services for delivering exclusive content, the company said in a statement.

Oi has been working on triple and quadruple play options since it clinched a deal in June 2006 to acquire Minas Gerais cable TV provider Way TV for 132mn reais (US$75.6mn). The telecoms regulator Anatel finally approved the acquisition on October 23 this year.

The firm's vision is to build its own portfolio of content, which can be available to the consumer via their mobile handset, their TV and their computer. To this end, Oi plans to use IPTV technology to introduce video on demand for its cable clients in 2008. The same platform allows viewers to access the internet from their TVs.

Oi will also add a video streaming option to its website in the first quarter.

The mobile TV package includes privately arranged content in the form of downloadable clips in a series called Humanoides, developed by Oi in collaboration with local production agency Raccord. There are also better known channels, such as MTV, ESPN Brasil, TV Sexy Club, Play TV, Woohoo, Discovery Movel, Cartoon Network and Band Internacional, whose content will be delivered via real-time streaming. Users also have the option of submitting their own video clips. For the entire offering Oi teamed up with content aggregator M1nd Corp.

Subscribers have the option of paying 5.90 reais for two hours of content or 9.90 reais for an entire day.

Posted to the site on 12th November 2007