Titan Broadcast ManagementBroadcasters Align For New Mobile DTV Push

By Harry A. Jessell

TVNewsCheck, September 8, 2010 4:32 AM EDT

A coalition of 30 TV station groups formally announced today that it will work to develop and implement a nationwide mobile DTV service.

The Mobile 500 Alliance is the second such group to emerge from the broadcasting ranks. Last April at the NAB Show, nine TV station groups and three networks — Fox, NBC and Ion — said that they would join forces to bring mobile DTV to market. That group, the Mobile Content Venture, is still working on a definitive agreement.

Both the Mobile 500 and MCV would use the mobile DTV standard promoted by the Open Mobile Video Coalition and adopted by the Advanced Television Systems Committee.

The goal of the Mobile 500 is to come up with a business model for a national service and to take whatever steps are necessary to make the model reality, said Colleen Brown, CEO of Fisher Communications and the designated spokesperson for the Mobile 500.

"We look forward to working with our broadcast partners, content providers, device manufacturers and others to develop an efficient and economical mobile DTV network," she said.

With 346 stations in 166 markets, she said, the coalition already reaches 90% of the U.S. population. That percentage will go even higher as more broadcaster sign on, she added.

Brown told TVNewsCheck that she does not yet know whether MCV and the Mobile 500 will or can work together, but said the Mobile 500 intends to be "collaborative and inclusive."

Word of the Mobile 500 began leaking out last June. At that time, sources said that it was committed to offering a free service. But Brown backed off from that. It could be subscription-supported, advertiser-supported or a combination of both, she said. "It's a little too early to tell."

In addition to Fisher, the leaders of the Mobile 500 include Capitol Broadcasting, LIN Media, Schurz Communications, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Titan Broadcast Group. They began putting the alliance together after they learned that they were being left behind by the Mobile Content Venture.

Although its coverage is greater, the Mobile 500 comprises TV groups with stations in smaller markets than those of the MCV members.

Other Mobile 500 participants: Communications Corporation of America, Cordillera, Freedom, Granite, Gray, Hoak, Hubbard, Local TV, Max Media, McGraw-Hill, New Vision, Nexstar, Pappas and Tribune.

The groups involved with the networks in MCV: Post-Newsweek, Gannett, Belo, Cox, Scripps, Hearst, Media General, Meredith and Raycom.

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