Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 15, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Tough times for mobile TV: at the end of April, Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland (MFD) discontinued its “watcha” service, which still used the DMB standard. This should have given the Mobile 3.0 consortium, which relies on the competing DVB-H standard and is financed in part by publishers including Burda and Holtzbrinck, good prospects.
But now electronics group LG has announced the start of deliveries of its HB620T TV phone—and mobile operators such as T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2, and Debitel are immediately adding it to their ranges. The phone receives television signals via the DVB-T standard, which was originally intended for conventional TV sets. It can be used to watch normal free-to-air television channels and, thanks to its 2-inch display and image-enhancement chip, in relatively good quality.
The device could increase acceptance of mobile TV because it is easy to use and involves no additional charges. At the same time, however, it puts Mobile 3.0’s business model at risk, along with the hopes of mobile-content creatives. The consortium intends to broadcast specially prepared TV content and original mobile formats via DVB-H, adapted to the handset, and to charge additional fees for their use. If mobile operators heavily promote the new phone with free TV reception and it succeeds, Mobile 3.0’s prospects are significantly reduced. This existential threat suits the mobile-operator camp: it may not generate extra revenue from DVB-T phone TV, but it undermines “publisher television” on mobile phones—a business it regards as its own.
