Talk, text, watch?

By | Thursday, April 17, 2008

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It may not boast the big screen that has friends begging to come over and watch the game — but then again, that's the point.

The promise of mobile television rests in the portability of cell phones — a fact that is not lost on U.S. wireless carriers who serve 255 million subscribers.

With AT&T Inc. rolling out its mobile-TV service next month — joining Verizon Wireless Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. — the three largest carriers are tempting consumers to use their cell phones for more than talking, texting or surfing the Web.

But despite carriers' investments in mobile TV, questions have loomed about consumer demand for the service.

Neither Verizon nor Sprint would disclose information on subscribers, but only 3 percent of wireless customers over the age of 18 use their phones to view video or TV, according to Nielsen Mobile. While ABI Research expects the ranks of mobile-TV subscribers to grow to 462 million by 2012, 260 million of those users will be in Asia.

Many explanations have been given for the low penetration of mobile TV in the United States. Paul Jacobs, chief executive of Qualcomm Inc. — which powers both Verizon's V Cast Mobile TV and AT&T's upcoming service — last month said carriers are not spending many advertising dollars on the effort, according to RCR Wireless News. Others say it's easier for consumers to access content directly via the Web rather than a subscription-based service tied to their carriers. Some say there isn't enough content to choose from.

"Mobile TV is in the very early stages. There are only a few channels to watch today," telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan said.

But the most popular answer: People simply don't want to pay to watch TV on their cell phones.

"It costs too much money. That's the whole story — period," said David Chamberlain, a wireless-industry analyst with In-Stat.

Unlike traditional broadcast TV, which is ad-supported and free for viewers, wireless carriers in the United States charge monthly subscriptions or download fees to view their mobile-TV content.

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