30 Broadcast Companies Form Mobile500 Alliance

Group to help develop sustainable business model for mobile TV

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/8/2010 8:23:00 PM

In a bid to accelerate the adoption of mobile television, 30 broadcasting companies have set up the Mobile500 Alliance. The group, representing some 346 full power stations broadcasting in 167 markets, hopes to build on the mobile DTV standards efforts of the Open Mobile Video Coalition and to help the industry develop a sustainable nation-wide business model for mobile TV by working closely with both content providers and device manufacturers to secure content rights and better devices.

"The expansion of mobile DTV provides local broadcasters with another way to deliver the information local viewers need and rely upon, especially as consumers increasingly turn to their portable devices for personalized content," noted Fisher Communications president and CEO Colleen B. Brown, who is serving as the group's chair, in a prepared statement. "We look forward to working with our broadcast partners, content providers, device manufacturers and others to develop an efficient and economical mobile DTV network."

Besides Brown at Fisher Communications, executives from Capitol Broadcasting Company, Fisher Communications, LIN Media, Schurz Communications, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Titan Broadcast Group were involved in the group. Overall, the members of the group own stations covering about 90% of the U.S. that reach about 263 million viewers.

The organization's wide membership base illustrates both the industry's optimism about the potential for mobile TV and a widespread recognition that some business models need to be strengthened before the technology can take off.

About 50 million people already own smart phones and that ownership is growing rapidly, seeing a hefty 8% spurt in a recent three month period, according to data cited by the Mobile500 Alliance.

"With another group of broadcasters now assembling business plans for Mobile Digital TV, the Open Mobile Video Coalition is pleased to have more interest in this technology that has started delivering favorite channels to consumers in a few markets," said OMVC Executive Director Anne Schelle. OMVC is currently field testing mobile DTV in the Washington, D.C., area. "As business models are developed, we expect to see more broadcasters sign on-the-air with Mobile DTV to join some 40 stations that are already on-air with TV transmissions optimized for mobile reception."