[opendtv] Opinion: Mobile TV's New Free Market Economy
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:39:39 -0400
Craig Birkmaier posted:
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/03/13/daily.9/
JESSELL AT LARGE
Mobile TV's New Free Market Economy
By Harry A. Jessell
TVNEWSDAY, Mar 13 2009, 3:37 PM ET
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Excerpts:
"Mobile got some good back-and-forth going. The undergrads were
interested in how it worked and seemed to like to idea of being able to
tune into their favorite broadcast TV shows on their cell phones and
other portable devices. As you should know, those devices are where they
live - phoning, texting, listening to music and lord knows what else.
"And they particularly liked (and were somewhat surprised) by the notion
that the service would be free. So far, most mobile video offerings are
pay. For instance, MediaFlo offers 12-15 channels, including CBS, NBC
and Fox, and several top cable networks for $15 per month. MobiTV's
array of primetime broadcast and cable programming adds $10 to the
monthly budget."
"For me, the most surprising finding is that 30 percent of mobile TV
users are watching while at home. That's up from 11 percent last year
and suggests that mobile TV might be better thought of as personal TV.
You might be watching on the bus or you might be watching under the
covers after bedtime."
All of which makes me wonder whay all the gloom and doom about FOTA TV
in the US. Kids seem to like to be able to receive TV in smaller sets in
their bedrooms, which makes a lot of sense. It's exactly the same as how
kids listen to music. As long as they're still living at home, they hide
in their rooms and want their media there. In college, similar thing
happens in dorm rooms, or rented rooms in town. No room for large LCDs
and large stereo systems. That comes a few short years later in life.
And EVEN in these non-mobile environments, it looks like broadcast FOTA
TV is cool with them.
So, have the advertizers just been out of touch? All of this seems self
evident to me, so it really makes me wonder what all the hand wringing
has been about.
I don't even believe that all of this MUST revolve around the new M/H
standard exclusively. Yes, some of these kids want to watch while riding
the bus too, but evidently, a large percentage of viewing would not
involve actual mobility. Just portability. Manufacturers of small
portable DTV receivers can put in a special effort to build robust
regular ATSC receivers, using techniques we have often discussed. And TV
set reviewers could actually spend some time commenting on the
performance of the built-in ATSC receiver. Somehow, the word hasn't
gotten out. Fertile ground for more conspiracy theories.
Bert
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