TPS: A Slow Start For Qualcomm's Mobile TV Offering
(Photo Credit: Andrew Feinberg/CapitolValley.net)
The rollout of wireless technology leader Qualcomm's new broadcast endeavor known as MediaFLO is "going slower than we would have liked," the company's CEO Paul Jacobs told the Tech Policy Summit in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The mechanism streams TV content to cellular phones and other handheld devices.
Verizon Wireless is the only provider currently selling equipment and signing up subscribers for MediaFLO but AT&T has indicated it will launch the service soon, he said. Jacobs reasoned that Verizon hasn’t yet executed an advertising blitz because "they're waiting for us to build out our network completely." The February 2009 deadline for the digital TV transition will help Qualcomm launch the service nationwide, he said.
MediaFLO, which offers nine channels, is available in 50 markets. Major networks like CBS, FOX and NBC have signed on to provide content as have ESPN, Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon. "From the content-side, it's been great. This is a new opportunity to reach people more frequently throughout the day," Jacobs said. "It's not just TV, it's TV you can have with you all the time."
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