Mobile Content Venture gets its ducks in a row
Jan 7, 2011 8:00 AM, By Michael Grotticelli
MobiTV will lend its end-user applications and experience with network management tools to the Mobile Content Venture’s efforts in order to get mobile DTV into the hands of consumers later this year.
The pieces to the mobile DTV puzzle continue to be moved into position and carefully fit together in the hopes that television stations in the top 20 media U.S. markets can begin transmitting live video and other localized content as part of their RF signals to a variety of portable devices by the second half of this year.
One of the key missing pieces heretofore is a reliable method for protecting content from piracy. Without it, content owners and the networks will not be willing to make their shows available to local affiliates. It’s clear that the most popular network and cable TV shows are critical to attracting consumers to participate in broadcasters’ mobile DTV business models.
Another vital piece is a compelling user experience that stimulates people to use the service on a regular basis.
It looks like the Mobile Content Venture (MCV), a consortium of a dozen station owners, has these figured out.
In a joint statement, Salil Dalvi, co-general manager of MCV and senior vice president of NBC Universal digital distribution, and Erik Moreno, co-general manager of MCV and senior vice president at Fox, said: “A vibrant mobile TV ecosystem needs broadcast services, consumer devices that comply with ATSC-Mobile standards and the ability to enable multiple business models for content owners.”
Last week, the MCV announced that it had reached agreements with a content protection technology provider and an interface application and network management services provider to combine their expertise and make the content distribution pipeline seamless for consumers while at the same time ensuring that content is not shared illegally.
Participating stations in the group said they will offer at least two channels of free, ad-supported local TV programming per market. Consumers will have to subscribe to the service for free via a user registration process.
Nagra-Kudelski, based in Switzerland with U.S. offices in Englewood, CO, and San Francisco, CA, has agreed to contribute its content protection technology (that works across multiple display screens), which will allow broadcasters to encrypt content and experiment with various business models, including advertising-supported distribution.
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