Broadcast TV to mobile - a solution looking for a problem?

Mumbai: The latest frontier of convergence is the broadcasting of TV content to mobile phones. The media industry is becoming excited about the possibility of offering broadcast TV content to mobile handsets — but is there a robust business case for operators when their 3G spectrum remains under-utilized?

In a report, Broadcast TV to Mobile — a solution looking for a problem? The London-based independent market analyst Datamonitor expresses concern about some of the astronomical forecasts currently in the market with regards the growth prospects for broadcast TV to mobile services. With radio spectrum rights, a crucially significant factor, as yet still largely unresolved in many markets, the planned commercial launches could yet be delayed.

The report describes the technological aspect of broadcast TV to mobile and analyses the transmission standards and reviews the required technology, the content of mobile TV services which are likely to be broadcast and provides an overview of trials across the world and provides an outlook of broadcast to mobile TV revenue until 2009.

Adrian Drozd, Senior Media and Broadcasting analyst at Datamonitor, comments, "Today, consumers are able to download short video clips over 2.5G and 3G networks. In the next few years broadcast networks and next-generation handsets will be deployed enabling them to watch broadcast TV on their mobile phone screens."

He adds, "However growth of mobile TV may be limited by the problems over spectrum allocation, the high price of handsets, consumer unwillingness to pay an extra charge for mobile phone service and operators wanting to push 3G video services, not broadcast TV to mobile services. As such, Datamonitor takes as conservative outlook for broadcast TV."