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Local TV for Devices on the Move

Who has time to sit on the couch and watch TV anymore? In the last 10 years, broadcasters have lost 25 percent of their audience. So to win back some viewers, the industry has a plan to grab their attention while they are on the move.

Beginning in April, eight television stations in Washington, D.C., will broadcast a signal for a new class of devices that can show programming, even in a car at high speed. In all, 30 stations in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington have installed the necessary equipment, at a cost of $75,000 to $150,000.

“Younger generations want programming on the go,” said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters. “To access TV on a cellphone, on a laptop or in the car is a game changer for local broadcasters. It will provide a renaissance for over-the-air broadcast TV.”

If enough people watch using the mobile TV technology, known, for lack of a more marketable name, as “ATSC Mobile DTV Standard,” local stations will be able to charge more for commercials and increase their revenue.

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A TV-DVD player from LG picking up the mobile signal.Credit...Katie Orlinsky for The New York Times

Getting a signal on a portable TV was not always a challenge. When analog television was the nation’s standard, a small set could pick up a signal at the ballpark, at the beach or in the car, though viewers often put up with a fuzzy, ghost-filled image.

But digital TV, the standard that went into effect last year, was developed for stationary televisions.

The mobile devices must catch a special signal, a slice of the broadcast frequency, and software processes it to display a clear picture on the go.

The technology will be used on new portable televisions with up to 10-inch screens, and smartphones and laptops with special adapters will also receive the signals. The devices must be within about 60 miles of a broadcast tower for a picture as clear as the television at home.

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A $120 device from Valups, left, can retransmit a mobile digital television signal to an iPhone, iPod or BlackBerry over Wi-Fi.Credit...Katie Orlinsky for The New York Times

The first devices will become available in April. They include a $249 TV-DVD player from LG; a $120 device the size of a cigarette box from Valups, a Korean set-top box maker, that retransmits a mobile signal to an iPhone, iPod or BlackBerry over Wi-Fi; PC dongles and set-top boxes for automobiles from iMovee; and a $149 iPhone/iPod mobile TV cradle from Cydle.

Once the signals are switched on and the devices gain in popularity, broadcasters may add specialty channels like sports and weather, offering more revenue opportunities.

The Mobile DTV standard also allows for two-way communication. When viewing an ad, a viewer may push a button to see more information or have it sent by e-mail. The system can also be used for voting, polling and audience measurement.

Mobile TV devices with GPS function could also feed location-specific ads so that, for example, an ad for a restaurant would appear only to someone nearby.

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A prototype LG Maize phone with digital TV built in.Credit...Katie Orlinsky for The New York Times

If Mobile DTV proves popular, it could threaten FLO TV, a subscription service developed by Qualcomm that offers programming from the four major commercial broadcast networks and Comedy Central, ESPN and others. To watch, subscribers must buy a $200 receiver or a compatible smartphone and pay $150 for a year’s subscription, or $200 for two years.

“Free mobile digital TV will be devastating to what is already a very small market for FLO TV,” said Richard Doherty, an analyst with the Envisioneering Group.

But FLO TV does not see it that way. It expects to sell its services as a premium add-on, much the way that consumers watch free TV and pay for cable services.

“There could be a ‘Best of FLO TV Channel’ that we’d sell bundled with free digital channels,” said Alice Kim, the company’s senior vice president of strategy.

Because FLO is aimed at the smartphone market, the broadcasters behind the mobile DTV effort are eager to see their service developed for cellphones, too. Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s largest makers of cellphones, is testing mobile TV in a modified Moment cellphone model to learn if the technology is a good business opportunity for wireless carriers.

“People don’t want to carry a separate video player,” said John Godfrey, vice president for government and public affairs at Samsung Electronics. “A mobile phone is the one essential device for consumers.”

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Local TV For Devices On the Move. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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