Broadcasters and not operators should finance Mobile TV

Ingrid Lunden reports after her interview with a Vivendi executive that the battleground between telcos and broadcasters for Mobile TV domination is emerging. According to Vivendi, the broadcasters, and not the mobile operators, should be financing and distributing Mobile TV.

Most of the mobile TV initiatives that have been launched so far in Europe have been spearheaded by mobile operators. Telemak has built and still operates the very first Mobile TV platform in Belgium. Mobistar (France Telecom) currently has over a dozen of Mobile TV channels in the mobile air.

Although Mobile TV services have not made a lot of profit to the operators, it is in the hands of the broadcasters to work closely with the operators on mobile advertising models in support of a free service and new television formats which appeal to a generation of urban and mobile users.