Users will be able to watch continuous streams of both BBC and BSkyB channels throughout the following six months, during which time representatives from O2 will study their viewing habits and attempt to gauge the overall success of the medium.
The participants will be watching the broadcasts with Nokia 7710 smartphones, equipped with handheld digital video broadcasting transmission technology, also known as DVB-H.
Although companies in the United Kingdom have played with mobile broadcast technology in the past, including a series of one-minute episodes from the popular show 24 offered by O2 earlier this year, next week’s test will mark the first time direct-to-phone broadcasts have been tested in the country for any extended length of time.
Previous smaller tests of the technology include a trial run this year by British mobile operator 3, which earned nearly a half-million dollars offering downloadable clips from the popular Big Brother television series.
Representatives at O2 said the results from the study would be used to determine the technology’s legitimacy in today’s mobile market. Dave Williams, O2’s chief technology officer, said the success of the market relies on a willingness of operators, regulators, broadcasters and handset suppliers to work together.
“Regulators need to license new spectrum, which will allow global economies to exist, broadcasters and publishers will need to tackle digital rights issues and operators need to develop workable revenue sharing partnerships,” Williams said. “By establishing relationships through activities such as this, we hope that potential challenges will be minimized and mobile TV becomes a commercial reality sooner than currently is possible."
On the consumer end, the biggest issue with phone TV always has been the phone itself, and whether consumers will be willing to stare at a phone screen for hours on end remains to be seen. Nonetheless, adult content operators have begun to report success with mobile distribution to cellphones, with companies like Xobile and OhMobile garnering the most attention of late.
"Despite the limited uptake of mobile media beyond ringtones, many brands now are eyeing opportunities to deliver mobile services directly to consumers," Jessica Sandin, principle analyst of mobile content and applications at Informa Telecoms & Media, said. "It’s now clear to both the media and music industries that mobile can become another media channel and, unlike the fixed Internet, there’s also a ready-made billing mechanism."
Next week’s trial will be run jointly by O2 and Arqiva, a London-based company specializing in digital TV.
