With Standard Adopted, Broadcasters Poised to Bring Mobile DTV to American Consumers

The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a voluntary association of more than 800 broadcast stations, today announced it is “All Systems Go” for a new era of television service on mobile devices. With Thursday’s adoption of a final mobile digital television (Mobile DTV) broadcast standard by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), U.S. broadcasters are poised to roll out an array of digital program services that will be available to consumers on devices ranging from in-car screens to portable DVD players and mobile phones.

“I congratulate ATSC for its remarkable achievement in bringing this standard to fulfillment. Mobile DTV utilizes the same digital spectrum that local TV stations use to send beautiful HD programming to the nation’s living rooms. With adoption of the ATSC Mobile DTV standard, small-screen versions of that programming and other services also will now be available over mobile devices,” said Brandon Burgess, president of the OMVC and CEO of ION Media Networks.

OMVC today demonstrated the services enabled by the new standard during a Mobile DTV briefing for government officials and others on a bus traveling around the Nation’s Capital. Seven Washington-area TV stations transmitted live local news, weather, sports and favorite programs to Mobile DTV compatible devices including mobile phones, laptop computers and netbook PCs. Senior representatives of the participating DTV stations, ATSC, the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and technology companies participated in the dialog about the new standard and the new mobile services it will support.

“The leadership and support provided by OMVC made it possible for ATSC to adopt the Mobile DTV standard and meet the aggressive timetable required by the industry,” said Mark Richer, president of ATSC. “To meet the technological challenges of sending digital television services to mobile and handheld devices within the existing DTV transmission was an impressive achievement made possible by industry cooperation. Consumers will soon reap the benefits from this innovative use of broadcast digital television.”

For the past three years, OVMC has been working hand-in-hand with broadcasters and manufacturers to support the ATSC on development of the Mobile DTV standard. It has also spearheaded trials of Mobile DTV by stations across the country. The five Washington-area stations participating in today’s demonstration will also be conducting a Consumer Showcase of the new Mobile DTV services over the next several months. Programming choices will not be limited to favorite local and network shows on mobile devices, but will also include live emergency alerts, local news and sports, as well as interactive services that are still in development. Some 70 OMVC member stations have also announced plans to roll out Mobile DTV programs this year. Technology manufacturers such as LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Harris Corporation, Rohde & Schwarz and Dell have produced prototypes devices and working transmission systems.

NEW SERVICES, NEW OPTIONS

Mobile DTV technology uses existing 6MHz channels from broadcasters to transmit a mobile stream of programming services that will not interfere with existing high-definition and multicast services.

Beyond live broadcasts, the OMVC envisions mobile services such as emergency alerts that can be customized by market or location, live audio feeds, datacasting with traffic maps, closed captioning, “clip casting” sports and news highlights that could be stored in memory on a device, “push” Video On Demand for future viewing, time-shifted television, mobile digital video recording, interactive polling, electronic coupons, targeted advertising, an electronic service guide for ease of tuning. Broadcasters will be able to extend their programming reach to a growing audience of new viewers -- anywhere, anytime, and at any speed (since the new Mobile DTV can even be received by viewers in the backseat of a car that is moving down the freeway.)

ABOUT THE OPEN MOBILE VIDEO COALITION

The Open Mobile Video Coalition is a voluntary association of television broadcasters whose mission is to accelerate the development of mobile digital television in the United States. The OMVC is composed of twenty seven members that own and operate over 450 commercial television stations, as well as the Association of Public Television Stations, Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service, which represent an additional 360 public television stations. Membership in the OMVC is open to all U.S.-based television broadcasters. Members are committed to fostering open competition in the development of products and services related to television. For more information, please visit http://www.omvc.org.