Mobile phone TV still in its infancy

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The so-called mobile phone television, which caused a stir a couple of years ago, is still in its infancy. In the broadcasting network set up by the Finnish radio and television services distributor Digita, there is so far only one TV channel, accompanied by a music video channel arranged by The Voice radio station.
      According to some estimates, the service has only a couple of hundred users at best, while there are only two mobile handset models with which viewing mobile television is possible.
      Now a new business operation model is sought for the struggling mobile-TV undertaking. More diverse network content plus more users and better profitability are being pursued.
      Digita is currently holding negotiations with mobile phone operators, who hold the keys to consumers’ pockets.
     
The broadcasting was to start in earnest already one and a half years ago.
      The commercial television channels managed to land an agreement with regard to copyrights, an issue that could have delayed the launch of the service.
      In May 2007 the Finnish TV channels Nelonen and MTV3 then started to supply programmes to the mobile network, after Digita had agreed they could use the network free of charge. The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE, in turn, opted to absent itself from the experiment.
      The setback came in September this year, when Nelonen decided to discontinue broadcasting in the network.
      “We still had problems with the copyright issues. When there is no advertising revenue in sight it does not make any sense for us to keep broadcasting in the mobile network”, Nelonen’s Marcus Wiklund says.
      “The question could also be formulated: whose business is this, anyway? The handset manufacturer and the network operator may benefit, but not anyone else”, Wiklund points out.
      MTV3 and YLE share Wiklund’s gloomy sentiments.
      “We are now looking for a model, in which YLE could provide the content, but the expenses would be taken care of jointly by the operators and the distributor”, says YLE Director of Programming Olli-Pekka Heinonen.
      Digita managing director Sirpa Ojala is optimistic.
      “We are currently holding negotiations over an operating model that we should be able to roll out already at the end of this year or the beginning of 2009. The operators would deal with the customers. No additional expenses would accrue to the TV channels providing the content”, Ojala says.
     
In practice the operators would collect the payments from the mobile-TV viewers. These profits would then be used to cover Digita’s network expenses and the possible copyright fees.
      The operators are particularly interested in pay-TV packages. The normal television channels would come on the side. According to Ojala, Digita is currently holding talks over such arrangements with operators Elisa and TeliaSonera.
      Vesa Lindqvist of TeliaSonera, however, is more cool-headed.
      “We have said that we will not try to force this option onto the market. We are primarily interested in the distribution of a pay-TV type of content. But so long as there are no users, even this option is not that tempting”, Lindqvist says.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  YLE postpones introduction of mobile phone TV (13.4.2007)

Links:
  Digita

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