Trials run by O2 in Oxford have shown that users, although initially wary about mobile TV, have watched 4 hours per week of mobile TV over the 6 month trial.
375 triallists took part in the study to analyse where, when and how often the group watched TV on their mobile phones. 16 channels were offered including the main terrestrial channels and Sky Sports News. The results are the second set to come from this trial and the industry was surprised initially to see that 36% of viewing was done at home. This figure has now dropped to 32% – still a large proportion. Most of the usage, 37%, was on the daily commute with some users even altering their travel times to coincide with their favourite programs.
Crucially 85% of O2′s triallists said they were satisfied with mobile TV and 72% would subscribe to the service within a year of launch.
The first commercial broadcast mobile phone TV service in the UK will arrive this summer courtesy of Virgin Mobile. Its service will be limited by bandwidth restrictions to a few channels. The O2 service, expected in 2007, uses a different technology which may not appear in the UK until 2012.
O2 are extending the trial later this year with the latest handsets and features including interactive voting for TV shows using the mobile phone signals.
