Nokia hails successful mobile TV pilot
Mobile handset maker Nokia has unveiled the results of its mobile television pilot in Helsinki. Nokia said the pilot—which it claimed was the world's first commercial mobile television trial—demonstrated that 41% of participants would be willing to pay for mobile TV services, with half of the 500 users in the trial saying they thought ?10 per month was a reasonable price to pay.
Fifty-eight per cent of trialists said they thought mobile television services would be popular with consumers.
Launched in March, the four-month pilot involved customers selected from TeliaSonera and Elisa's mobile services. Triallists were able to view real-time TV and radio programmes on a Nokia 7710 smartphone equipped with a special accessory to receive mobile TV broadcast in the DVB-H standard.
Nokia said the results of the trial showed participants not only wanted to watch familiar programmes, but also welcomed mobile TV content that was suitable for short and occasional viewing. Familiar programmes available through national Finnish television channels proved to be the most popular followed by sports and news channels CNN, BBC World and Euronews.
The Ice Hockey World cup games, the San Marino and Monaco Formula One as well as the UEFA Champions League match between Liverpool and AC Milan were among the top 10 programmes viewed during the pilot.
On average triallists spent around 20 minutes each day watching mobile TV, although more active users watched between 30 to 40 minutes per session. Participants also watched mobile TV at different times than traditional TV peak hours.
Mobile TV was most popular while travelling on public transport to relax or to keep up to date with the latest news although it also proved popular at home for entertainment and complementing participants' main TV watching.
Users said they preferred a fixed pricing model although many were also interested in a pay-per-view model.
"The Helsinki pilot reinforces our belief that mobile broadcast TV is a significant opportunity," said Richard Sharp, Nokia's rich media chief. "The message for the industry is clear: for mobile TV services to succeed we need relevant and compelling content, easy-to-use technology and reasonable and simple pricing plans. With these elements in place, consumer demand for mobile TV will follow."
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