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12th May 2005 - O2 and NTL Broadcast today revealed
the first batch of channels to be part of their line-up
for the forthcoming Oxford mobile TV trial, including
Cartoon Network, CNN, Discovery Channel, Sky Sports
News and Sky Travel. The six-month trial - which marks
a UK first - begins performance testing in July prior
to roll out to 350 O2 customers early in September 2005.
BSkyB, Chart Show TV, Discovery Networks Europe, Shorts
International and Turner Broadcasting will be among
the organisations providing 16 television channels to
be received by O2 customers in the Oxford area using
the new Nokia 7710 handset. Designed to test and showcase
the televisual capabilities of the next generation of
mobile phones, the trial will look at how people choose
to catch up on their favourite TV shows, watch the latest
music videos and keep up to date with the news and sport
when on the move.
The six-month trial will use the DVB-H broadcast transmission
standard, specially designed for handheld reception.
With its low battery power consumption and robust reception,
DVB-H allows an efficient 'one-to-many' method of delivering
TV content in a way that complements the one-to-one
video streaming which is already possible via GPRS and
3G networks. To enable a commercial service to be launched
in the UK, Ofcom will need to license spectrum, and
the results of the trial are seen as valuable in proving
ongoing consumer interest.
Dave Williams, O2's chief technology officer, said:
"We see this trial as a key way to understand how
to provide mobile users with a useful and entertaining
service whilst out and about. It will give us invaluable
insight into how to structure the service offering for
consumers, and, because of this, popular and well-known
content is crucial to the trial's success. We believe
that mobile broadcast TV has the potential to sit alongside
our existing customer services based on GPRS (2.5G)
and 3G mobile data networks. Mobile broadcast TV aims
to be a cost effective method for transmitting high
quality content from one source to multiple customers
whereas 3G is ideal for providing bespoke content to
users."
Terry Howard, head of media business development at
NTL Broadcast, said: "We have had overwhelming
interest in involvement from across the broadcast and
media sector and we're delighted to be able to welcome
on board the first batch of major broadcasters. We know
from our own research that well over half of UK mobile
users are very interested in watching their favourite
TV programmes on their mobiles, which is why we are
aiming to put together such a compelling channel line-up.
This trial will give a useful insight into how the new
technology performs, and we intend to use that information
to inform the broadcasters, mobile operators and Ofcom
about the consumer appeal of the service. We look forward
to welcoming other channel providers and terrestrial
broadcasters on board for the trial."
"We are delighted to be involved in this UK mobile
TV trial," said Mark Selby, VP sales music &
rich media business programmes, multimedia, Nokia. "Nokia
research in this area reveals the strong consumer interest
in mobile TV services and, with successful trials conducted
elsewhere in the world, we expect mobile TV to be a
hugely popular application, driving the mobile entertainment
market."
NTL Broadcast is currently building a new broadcast
network of eight DVB-H transmitters, using existing
structures, to cover 120 square km centred on Oxford
that will enable the participants to receive digital
television on the move. O2 will soon begin the process
of recruiting triallists from the specified catchment
area within the Oxford ring road: triallists will be
between 18 and 45 years of age, and spend the majority
of their day (i.e. live, work or study) in Oxford. Initially,
handsets will be provided to all 350 triallists by Nokia
- the new 7710 which, for the purposes of the trial,
will come with a special DVB-H receiver.
Content partners/Channels announced so far:
- BSkyB (Sky News, Sky Sports News, Sky Travel)
- Chart Show Channels Ltd (Chart Show TV)
- Discovery Networks Europe (Discovery Channel)
- Shorts International (Shorts TV - a bespoke short
film channel)
- Turner Broadcasting (CNN, Cartoon Network
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