Freeband TV News

Mobile TV strikes back

Robin Hague

Free-to-air mobile TV stakes a claim for the future

An analogue, free-to-air model is the answer to the problems besetting mobile television, according to Telegent Systems, the California-based supplier of single-chip technology for TV on devices such as cellphones, laptops and notebooks.

Last week, FreebandTVNews questioned the viability of mobile TV in Europe and the US, reporting figures showing sluggish uptake and falling usage. We also challenged a business model based on trying to charge consumers for sometimes extremely poor content.

In response, Telegent contends free-to-air mobile television and analogue at that, is already successful and provides a base for strong growth in the mobile TV sector, helping persuade consumers to regard their cellphones as practical and attractive devices for watching television on the go.

Diana Jovin, VP Corporate Marketing and Business Development at Telegent Systems: “Free-to-air mobile TV uptake has proven to be successful in both emerging economies globally, where analogue TV is prevalent, as well as in Japan and Korea, which have adopted digital free-to-air standards.

“In emerging economies, consumers often rely on TV as a primary vehicle of information and entertainment, realising the value of having access to TV on their mobile while in transit, at home as a secondary device, and during breaks at work.”

Jovin acknowledges subscription mobile TV hasn’t worked in markets where consumers have traditionally experienced free access to television, and suggests the free-to-air model will work because it provides content that consumers know and enjoy already on conventional TV sets and so “is a vehicle for driving mass market adoption for mobile TV.”

She says: “Once consumers are accustomed to watching TV on their handsets, operators can begin to offer value added services, such as premium content, in a model similar to how cable and satellite premium channels are often bundled with free-to-air channels.

“The success factors for driving mobile TV adoption are: spectrum that is allocated, content that consumers want to view, infrastructure that is deployed and provides reasonable coverage, standards that are globally available, and handsets that provide design appeal.

“The reason why free-to-air mobile TV has the potential to drive rapid adoption is that it leverages the existing ecosystem – that is, the first four factors are already addressed and do not have be built from scratch or licensed. Manufacturers only have to build the feature into handset designs and then consumers have immediate access to content that they find appealing.”

For Telegent, digital switchovers will still leave 85 percent of the world’s population watching analogue broadcasts, so there is strong reason to continue to pursue an analogue mobile TV model.

“A free-to-air mobile TV strategy must encompass analogue standards to foster global adoption. It must enable solutions for markets where analogue TV is the only standard by which broadcast TV is delivered today. Hybrid solutions that cover both analogue and digital free-to-air standards will enable manufacturers to address markets in transition, as these transitions do take time,” says Diana Jovin.

“Until now, Telegent’s focus has been primarily on markets where analogue broadcast TV is prevalent. Telegent also earlier this year introduced a solution for the PCTV sector that covers both analogue and digital standards, enabling consumers to benefit from a solution that provides maximum coverage during the analogue to digital transition.”

Telegent reports device manufacturers are already introducing ultra-low cost handsets for price sensitive markets such as India and Africa, in anticipation of major sporting events like World Cup 2010 and the third year of the Indian Twenty20 Premier Cricket League.

So, if Telegent is correct, for mobile television, the future’s bright, the future’s analogue, for now at least.

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