Mobile music gets more attention than mobi-TV — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{BT, Virgin Mobile test 1000 users} Mobile music gets more attention than mobi-TV

13 Jan 2006 at 13:29 GMT Timo Poropudas

UK mobile phone users are more interested in music than TV, according to the findings of a recent BT/Virgin Mobile trial, reported in the UK press. The Guardian newspaper says to have seen an analysis of the recent BT and Virgin Mobile Group pilot scheme, which involved 1,000 mobile customers being given the chance to try out mobile TV and music services.

Consulting company BWCS quotes Guardian saying that 59 percent of those involved in the recent trial service said that access to TV on their handsets was an “appealing” option. However, on the other hand, 65 percent of the trialists rated mobile digital radio at the same level of interest. The Guardian reports that users watched an average of 66 minutes of TV a week on their phones while they listened to an average of 95 minutes of radio.

The research also shows that users are prepared to pay around GBP 5 a month for access to TV services on their phones.

The trial is one of the most extensive of mobile TV services being carried out at the minute and involved users within the greater London area. BT’s Movio service uses a portion of the digital radio spectrum currently available and allows mobile customers to receive live television programs as well as digital radio stations.

Emma Lloyd, the head of BT’s Movio business, told the Guardian newspaper, “I would characterize it as radio being even more attractive than TV in the trial. We will be able to piggy-back on the attractiveness of digital radio and I don’t think that is a negative thing; I see it as a positive thing because the UK leads the world in digital radio.”

The Movio service uses normal broadcast signal. It works using Internet technology and part of the digital radio spectrum owned by national digital radio broadcaster, Digital One. Taiwanese company HTC is already making the first commercially produced handset capable of receiving the broadcast TV images.

Virgin Mobile is hoping to land a period of exclusivity for the technology in Britain and says it will offer several TV channels to its customers from this summer.

MmO2 is due to report back on the results of its trial next week. The former BT mobile wing has been trailing the Nokia-backed DVB-H standard, which relies on different radio spectrum.

Lloyd said yesterday that BT is aware of the strengths of DVB-H in broadcasting multiple channels but had made the decision to go with DAB because the network is already in place across the country.