Viewers worldwide are increasingly watching television on cellphones, catching up on popular series, news, and sports from their handheld devices. Analysts forecast roughly 125 million people will use broadcast mobile TV globally by 2010, with Asia currently ahead and Europe and North America closing the gap.
The mobile TV business dominated discussion at the MIPCOM audiovisual trade fair in Cannes this week, where phone companies pressed TV and film studios to make more content available on mobile platforms. Some broadcasters remain cautious, worried that mobile and internet distribution could undermine their traditional business.
Disney struck its first pan-European agreement at the event, supplying Disney Channel programming to Orange subscribers across several countries from Britain to Slovakia. French carrier SFR is drawing younger audiences with music and on-demand access to favorite shows outside school hours, and now offers unlimited weekend viewing for 10 euros a month, with three channels available free to prospective subscribers.
User-generated content is also fueling growth. Orange chief Sanjiv Ahuja noted that 110,000 customers in France blogged through the network in a single recent month. The MIPCOM made-for-mobile competition this year drew a record number of entries, including a horror series, a South Korean production billed as the first gay 3G film, and a mobile spinoff from Twentieth Century Fox's series "24."
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in October 2006, in its own words.