By Frank MacekAs you have likely read, the push is on by the major broadcasting groups to get the mobile digital television business up and running as quickly as possible.
For companies like Gannett, WKYC's parent, the push is a very important one to help ensure television and electronic media's long term viability in whatever form it can be delivered. This not only includes traditional forms of content being available over the air, on cable, satellite, in newspapers on on the internet, but also having material available on mobile devices for consumers to take anywhere.
In April of this year, 12 major TV station groups created the Mobile Content Venture (MCV) to develop a plan that is sustainable and profitable for a new national mobile content service by utilizing existing broadcast spectrum to enable member companies to deliver content to mobile devices, including live and on-demand video, local and national news from print and electronic sources, as well as sports and entertainment programming.
The goal is to reach 150 million U.S. residents, or about half the population. In addition to broadcast spectrum, the partners will commit content, marketing resources and capital to the new venture. The service will employ ATSC-M/H, an open broadcast transmission system developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) specifically for mobile devices.
On Tuesday, the plan took a major step forward with the announcement of two co-general managers of the project and a committee that represents the various broadcasting groups.
Dave Lougee, President of Gannett Broadcasting, was named part of this committee and will represent our 23 television stations in the project. "Mobile digital television places each of our companies at the center of a consumer transformation, putting us on cell phones, netbooks, DVD players and even in-vehicle entertainment systems," said Lougee when the announcment of the venture was first announced. "And it's the consumers who are the big winners. From news and entertainment to emergency information, virtually all U.S. consumers will soon be able to bring their most valuable content with them wherever they go."
Testing of these services is being done in Washington with mobile vendors and technicians who are in the process of conducting consumer trials of the standard and how best to deliver the content coming to a mobile device of yours soon.
