Spin Can't Mask Lack Of Interest In Mobile TV

from the don't-believe-the-hype dept

Despite study after study that can't explain why mobile television will succeed or highlights how little interest there really is in it, the hype rolls on. Earlier this week, the result of a trial in Finland were announced, with less than half the users saying they'd be willing to pay for mobile TV, but the press release makes out like that's an overwhelming success. Now, another study from another research firm is out, saying that just 13% of US internet users with portable devices would like to see live TV functionality built into them. Don't worry -- though the number is small, the firm says, they're a "hardcore" bunch. Hardcore or no, the number of people actually interested in mobile TV (and willing to pay for it) is looking mighty small. As long as the model remains just broadcasting live programming, rather than doing anything interesting or interactive, mobile TV looks doomed to fail.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    David Oh, 1 Sep 2005 @ 5:40pm

    It sucks

    I have cingular wireless with edge and unlimited data transfer plan. i tried out the 3 day trial, thinking it would be interesting. i canceled on their web site within 2 hours as soon as I got back from a trip.

    Mobile TV sucks at this point. It's just not ready for prime time.

    Picture maybe like 8 or 9 frames per second on a less than postage size resolution and the sound isn't matched up correctly with a pitiful channel selection of mostly news.

    Maybe in europe or japan with their ultra fast speed networks, but honestly, i think i would use the phone to send text and communicate rather than watch TV or oops "video on demand".

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    z0idberg, 2 Sep 2005 @ 3:19am

    lack of quality

    even if resolution and image quality was very good I cant see this taking off.
    With home TVs getting bigger, better and cheaper all the time I cant see people (me mostly!) getting excited about watching TV on a tiny portable screen.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.